What If Katniss Didn't Volunteer?
by HungerGames29
Summary: When Katniss can't believe here sister has been picked, she faints. Prim has no volunteers and has to go into the Games with Peeta Mellark. :)


What if Katniss didn't volunteer?

"Prim, It's ok! It was just a dream! Your name is one of thousands, they won't pick you!" The dream was to real to believe anything she was saying. Effie Trinket, the capitol lady who picks the Tributes from district 12 walked to the giant bowl of perfectly neat handwritten slips of paper. She reached in and grabbed the top paper. She walked to the microphone and took a deep breath. "May the odds be ever in your favor!" She unfolded the paper and took a look around. "Primrose Everdeen!" The next thing I heard was a scream from a girl's high pitched voice. My eyes opened and the scream was still there. My sister ran in and hushed me down. She held me for a few minutes. I knew she had to leave soon. She left every morning. Sometimes for different reasons, but mostly to hunt. So when she got up to go I still had to ask. "Wait!" I said, worried she wasn't coming back. "Where are you going?" She saw my expression and calmly said "Gale and I are just hunting. I will be back before the reaping I promise. I love you" She said. Every time she went into the woods-which was illegal- I always worry. "Be careful." I said, and gave her my best smile. Now she was back and we were only minutes away from the Reaping whistle. "Katniss, what if it is me? What if I have to go to the Capitol and fight in the arena? What if I die?" She looked at me and said "Prim, your name is in there once. It won't be you." I decided she was right. There was the whole district worth of names in there, I was only one. It won't be me. It won't be me. I stood with the little kids and waited for Effie to come on the stage. I waited to see who was going to be participating this year. For 73 years the Hunger Games have been active. I was scared standing there alone. I thought about my dad. How he would have been the one hunting this morning for our evening dinner tonight. He would have brought back the deer or wolf or something and Katniss would have been home with me the whole time. Then again, if my father was still alive, my mother would have been there for me too. And for Katniss. But we haven't had our mother for five years since the explosion that killed my father in the mines. My father was a great and respected man. He would have been able to calm me down even before Katniss could. But I'm just going to have to get through this by myself.

Finally, Effie is on the stage and talking into the microphone. I don't hear her though. I just continue looking through the many 12 year olds around me. No one here will be picked, they can't. Each of them just one name of thousands. I looked behind me at Katniss. She gave me a reassuring smile and I returned it with one of my own. Katniss should be the one worried, not me. Her name is in there 24 times, mine once. She should be scared of being taken away and forced to possibly die in an arena. But she is strong, Katniss could win if she was chosen. I couldn't. Suddenly, things seemed different. I seemed more confident about walking out of here today. I felt on top of the world! That all changed. As the video ended and Effie walked to the bowl full of the girl's names, my heart sunk. What if I knew someone I knew got called. Someone in my age group. I knew basically every one of them! Effie was back at the microphone now, and once more she wished the odds to be in our favor, and started tearing the tape off the paper. Who's name was on that!? She took a deep breath, and just as in my dream, said my name perfectly. "Primrose Everdeen!" I stood in shock. I couldn't move and I suddenly felt dizzy. Me? Had I heard her right? ME!? I only had one slip in there! How is this possible! The guards were at the end of my row waiting for me. There was no running. I walked to them. I started for the stage, and as I did I looked at where Katniss was. She was gone. She was there a minute ago, she smiled at me. But I don't see her now. What if she is trying to take my spot? To go into the arena? No! I can't let her! How would my mother survive? Already I was at the steps, and Effie was practically pulling me up on stage. I looked for Katniss and again didn't see her. People around her spot seemed to be crouching down. Did they know me? Or feel bad for a poor 12 year old? Unlikely. They were probably so happy they collapsed. They weren't chosen. They would live for at least another year. But I wouldn't live for another month.

Part 2

Everything from the past 30 minutes is a blur. I held back the tears while I was on stage, but as soon as I was behind the doors of the Justice Building, I broke down. Effie actually had to call a guard to carry me to my waiting room. I remember standing on stage, feeling like my knees were going to give out. Effie looked thrilled as she said, "Well, what an honorable young lady we have for this year's games!" She then walked to the bowl of the boys. I remember Katniss saying something about Gale having his name in there 40 something times. I was still in shock to even consider thinking about it. She walked to the microphone and said loud and proud "Peeta Mellark!" Peeta Mellark? I have heard his name before. He looked very familiar as he walked up the stage. He was very strong and also looked in shock. He wasn't from the seam. He was from town so most likely, his name was only entered the minimum number of times. Our chances were so slim but it still happened, and we couldn't do anything about it. We were going to die for the entertainment of the Capitol people. I sat in my room full of fancy furniture and refreshments. I was too nervous to eat even though the games were like a week away. In just a few moments would start my hour of visitors. My family and friends would come and basically say good bye for the last time. The last thing I would have of district 12, except my token. I won't have one though. You are expected to wear it with you and since I didn't think I was going to be picked, I didn't wear anything but the clothes on my back. What was happening? I couldn't believe this. I closed my eyes and tried to relax- though I knew I wouldn't- but was interrupted by a loud knock at the door. I was on my feet in 2 seconds and was in the arms of my mother and sister in another. We had 15 minutes together from the lack of visitors I had. I looked up and saw Gale had come too. 15 minutes to make sure my family was going to be ok. 15 minutes. "Prim, I am so sorry! I don't know what happened. I heard your name and I passed out. I didn't even wake up until they had taken you away and then it was too late. I didn't have time to step forward and take your place and you were gone. I will never forgive myself Prim. I'm just so sorry!" She looked like she was holding back the tears, though few had escaped. I couldn't let her feel like this, it wasn't her fault. It was the Capitol's. "Katniss, don't feel like that! It wasn't your fault. If you had been picked I would have dropped as well. What is important now is that you don't leave. You can't be depressed like mom was when dad died. She won't survive and neither will you. Please Katniss, as my last request, stay alive!" She was still hugging me when she whispered in my ear. "When you get In there, hide. If you can stay away long enough you may be able to last until the last kill. Maybe, just maybe." A tear slipped through my eyes too, but I fought back the others. I would save those for the train. I hugged Katniss and looked at my mom. "Mom, I love you, but please! You can't go away again. If you do, then so will Katniss. Use Lady for milk and cheese. Sell it. You are the medic of the town, so keep yourself busy. Just not too busy. I love you!" I kissed her on the cheek and gave her a big hug. "Prim." She whispered in my ear. "Don't give up on yourself, we won't stop believing until..." I hugged her tighter; I couldn't let her know I already gave up. I would try, but I knew I wouldn't win. I felt like an adult. Making sure everyone was taken care of before myself. I had one more person. Gale. He was like a brother to me. Katniss and him always shared the days catch and made sure each other's families were fed. I loved Gale to. I let go of my mom and went and stood in front of him. "Gale," I said, my voice already shaky. "Please, make sure they stay alive. Don't let them die please! Take care of them." That's all I could say. I heard his big husky voice suddenly go soft. "Prim, nothing will happen to them. I promise." He got on his knees and gave me a big hug. "If anything happens to you, I swear… Prim?" He let go and looked me in the eyes. "Listen to your sister. Hide, but move around. Learn to climb a tree in training and do that in the arena. We love you sweetie." Then the door opened, time for my family to go. No! Please! I ran to Katniss and hugged her tight. "I love you! Stay alive please! I love you Katniss." She started crying again and I had to let go. The peacekeepers had to drag them all away. I started crying and fell into the couch. No one else is going to want to see me! Why can't they stay longer? Why can't they be here the full hour? Then I knew why. There was another knock at the door. My school teacher walked in. What is he doing here? We had always gotten along but he wasn't my favorite and I wasn't his. He didn't even hesitate; he went right down to it. "Listen Prim, everything I have taught you in class. None of it is true. The capitol isn't a great place just trying to keep the districts in order with these Games. They want power and they know nobody will try to prove them wrong. Nobody will stand up to them. Be that person. Show them something they don't want to see. If you are going to die," I cringed at his last sentence. "Do something to make the districts take action. Make the Capitol mad. Prim, you can change the way we live completely." I just stared at him. Didn't he know this room had to bugged!? That everything he was saying was being heard by Capitol officials!? "Mr. Tester I-"He cut me off. "Don't say anything; you know they can hear us just as well as I do. I will be going now." He got up and left. Nothing was making sense right now. All I know is I'm not coming back and my teacher wants me to activate the districts. He was right, if I'm dying, may as well try to change everyday life for Katniss and Gale and my mom. But how?

Part 3  
We were on the train and it was like nothing I had ever seen before. Food everywhere! Every table had some kind of different dish on it. The amount of food right here could feed everyone full in our district for 2 weeks and it was here for 4 people for 2 days. Haymitch left us right away to go find something to drink. Alcohol no doubt. Haymitch was our mentor after he won the second quarter quell. The only thing he ever bought was beer and wine. He was probably just trying to drink away everything he had been through when he won. I don't know how he won, but he had to kill at least someone and probably watched others die. So I can see why he wants to forget. Effie let us sit in chairs even better than those at the Justice building. Everything so soft. Neither Peeta nor I talked as Effie stared at us waiting for us to say something. She must have gotten uncomfortable because she decided it was time to show us our rooms. My room had a bathroom with something called a shower. When you turned it on, it was like raining only warmer. I took one right away so I could be alone for once. I also needed some time to cry a little without being noticed. When I got out, I got dressed and sat on my giant bed. This could fit me, Katniss, and my mother with room to spare. I looked around the room and thought about how amazing all this was and about how everything was thrown out and replaced with new stuff every year. The districts didn't get even the old stuff, and it isn't good enough for the Capitol. It makes me sick. I decided now would be the time to cry, I still had 30 minutes until dinner. I laid my head on the pillow and cried and cried and cried. I would never see my family again. I would never see my home again. My goat or my cat. Nothing but all the Capitol Garb, and I really didn't want to see that.

With a half nights rest and a whole day of crying behind me, I think I will join everyone for breakfast. I didn't go to dinner last night because I didn't want to see anyone. I did get some water and a yogurt though. All done with the power of one ring. Servants everywhere to do whatever we need. If I wanted someone to give me a bath they would. I walked down the hallway and found the dining room empty. Huh. Breakfast at 7:30 is what the paper said. I decided to ring another bell and order some food. I need to eat something or I would die before the games even started. I ordered things I had never had before. Real cow milk, white bakery bread, something called bacon, sausage, and an omelet. I felt like a giant pig, but then Peeta came down and ordered twice that much. Effie followed and Ordered what was probably health food for her "Perfect Capitol Figure" and Haymitch just spiked some Black Coffee. When we had finished our second serving of food, Haymitch explained everything that was going to happen. But he explained like he didn't care about of lives. Like we were just an old pair of socks he had to use until he got new ones and could throw us out. I couldn't stand it anymore, he didn't care! So I got up and went to my room. I was never going home, and the Capitol didn't care if I did or not. There was a soft knock at my door later on. It was about 4 p.m. and I never rang for anyone. "Come in." I said, but if it was Haymitch, I was throwing him out. It wasn't Haymitch, it was Peeta. That was worse. I didn't want to talk to him! Get to know him and then have him die! But it was nice having someone from the district with me, brought back good feelings. "Hello" I said, trying to be sweet. "Hey Prim." He said, walking and sitting on the edge of my bed. "Listen," He said "This shouldn't be happening to you. You are too sweet and nice and loveable for this to happen. Like when you would come to the bakery and look at the cakes. Even though you couldn't buy one, you were happy enough just to see them. You were ok with your life and now it's being taken away. I'm sorry." Was he really saying this? I couldn't believe it. So that's where I knew him! He decorated the cakes at the bakery that I loved seeing so much. He was the one who snuck me and Katniss a bite of bread when he could. He was the one, when my family was starving, threw real bakery bread to Katniss-even though it was burnt a little- which saved our lives. He was the one this shouldn't be happening to. He should be home in his families' bakery making an "I'm not dead" cake. "Well Peeta, this shouldn't happen to anyone. I can only hope that you are strong enough to make it back to District 12." He smiled, "That's sweet Prim, but for you and your sister, I am going to do whatever I can to keep you alive, even if it means my own life. I will guard you until I can't anymore. I will make sure you win." Then he must have thought of something funny because he gave a short laugh. "And when you get back to District 12, say Hi to Katniss for me." Say hi to Katniss? They had barely spoken. Why would he want to say hi to her? She was a girl from the seam and he was a baker's son. People like that don't speak to each other unless needed. Maybe it was a way of saying to Katniss after he was dead that he was glad the 12 year old was home. He was staring at me, waiting for an answer. "Peeta" I said "You don't have to do that. These games are a death match and everyone needs to fight for themselves. You need to try to get home to your family." He just shook his head. "Prim, you are 12, you have your whole life ahead of you if you can get back alive. It may not be the best life, but you will be with your mother and Katniss. I want you to get back to get back home with them. As I am sure you have noticed Haymitch isn't much help. He is drunk all the time and has no hope for either of us. I talked to Effie after you left breakfast this morning. She has agreed to send us gifts when needed. Well, at least get Haymitch to say the words to get them delivered. I will get you back home." I didn't know what to say, and I guess he didn't either because he got up and left. He wanted me home? He wanted to die for me? We don't know each other. I could see Gale doing that for me if it had been him because he was like my brother. But some baker? No way. Was he trying to get me off guard? To try to give me some breathing room only to take away my breath completely in the arena? I didn't know, but I am deciding right now that I wasn't going down without a fight. Not some killing machine, but not a lost puppy either.

Part 4  
"Get up, get up, get up! We are only 40 minutes away from the Capitol and everyone needs to look presentable if you want to get a sponsor!" Sponsor? How was I going to get a sponsor? I didn't have any special skill like Katniss with a bow. I probably couldn't pick up most the weapons that that would be in the cornucopia. And to top it all off, I wasn't much to look at. Hollow cheeks, dry skin, and way underfed. I probably looked like a monster to the Capitol people. But what did I care about the capitol? I hated them and the way they lived. They got everything and more at the push of a button. In the districts, one meal of theirs would last my family a week! And they just threw out the remaining food, even if no one had touched it! "Prim!" I heard Effie yell through my door, "Get up and get ready! We are almost there!" Great. Time for cameras and reporters and absolutely no privacy. I sat in the room with all the tributes that had been chosen this year. From district 1 was an average size boy with blonde/brown hair. He was very tall, towering the district girl. She was long blonde curls and looked like she just came out of heaven. She was beautiful and looked fierce. It awed and scared me at the same time. The boy from 2 was a good 6 foot and 5 inches. He had jet block hair -just like the girl- and could probably pick up and throw the fattest Capitol citizen. The girl had straight hair and stood about 10 inches shorter than him. Still taller than me but now by much. So I knew she would be fast. The boy from 10 was even taller than the boy from 2 and larger. Not large as in fat, but as in built. He looked very strong coming from an outlying district. And the girl was nothing like him. He had to be like 17 and she was my age. Exactly 12. She had puffy brown hair and deep brown eyes. She was small for her age, she looked 10! She looked scared, and it wasn't hard to guess why after she had seen her competition. I think I heard someone call her Rue. It was such a beautiful name. If I didn't make it back, and neither did Peeta, I hope she did. "Attention everyone!" Everybody's head snapped to the doorway, were a Capitol lady stood, "It is time to get ready for the parade, please wait for your district to be called to go meet your stylist. Just to be clear, everyone has their own. We don't share in the Capitol" She said the last sentence with a laugh. Wow. Did she really just say that? Everything we ever had we had to share with our family. And she is treating it like nothing. They started with the last district so Peeta and I stood up and walked out. We followed her down a long hallway and turned right to face to doors. "The one on the left is for you." She said to Peeta with a small shove. "And the one on the right is for you" But before she could touch me, I walked through the door. There was what looked like an operating table, a chair, and a lot of make-up and beauty things all ready for me. The man in the corner looked up from a paper and smiled. "Hello, I'm Cinna. Please have a seat and I will be right there." I sat down on the table like thing, because I knew he would be fixing me up. He didn't look to bad. He had a light brown skin with short black hair. The only thing odd was that he wore gold Eyeliner, and it didn't look too bad on him. He came over and sat down in the chair. And just looked at me. Finally, he stopped and said something I never thought would have heard out of the mouth of a Capitol citizen. "I'm sorry, that you got picked. This isn't right. But I am going to help you in every way humanly possible." Wow. Everyone is feeling sorry for the 12 year old. I didn't want to be rude so I just said "Thank you, I hope you can." I gave a weak smile. He smiled back and said "Now, the tribute parade is tonight. And it is my job to get you ready. I have an idea I think you are going to love. You know you have to dress up as something to represent your district right?" I thought of all the years of watching our tributes with a light flame around their body or on fire completely. I was told it has been like that since the beginning. It was great to start with, the whole 'what do you do with coals? Light them on fire.' Nothing original had been made since. "Yes." I said. "So I'm going to be on fire right?" He smiled, a friendly smile. One I knew I could trust, and said. "Not exactly, I have something else in mind. But first, I must give you over to the hands of some pretty dangerous people." Well that was enough to scare me more than I already was. "Your prep team!" He said, and then hit a button that played really scary music. I laughed until I thought I would fall off of my seat!

Part 5  
So here I stand, waiting in my tribute parade costume. I must say it is something different, just not exciting. Cinna, instead of putting us in something that represents what our district gives to the capitol, he has given us the opportunity to show everyone what it's really like in our district. Since I help my mother a lot with the healing, he has put me in the same kind of outfit as a doctor. Like, white pants, white shirt, white shoes and a little medic hat. Peeta, has on a white apron over some blue pants, and a nicer looking shirt than he would actually wear at the bakery, and a hat. It's interesting to me, I just don't know about the Capitol people. Our sponsors. "Are you ready Prim?" Said Cinna who was on my left. "Yes." I answered. "Just a little nervous." He said "Don't be, they haven't seen anything like this before, so this will be a great surprise." Then he smiled his friendly smile again, and I said. "Ok." Screams! They were so loud. The roar of the crowd was too much for me to handle and I thought as though I may pass out. I started to lean backwards, but a large hand grabbed me. "Prim? Are you ok?" Peeta asked me. I stood back up and shook my head a bit to clear myself. "Yes, just a bit surprised." He still had his hand on my arm. "I'm ok now." He let go but looked at me with eyes as though he were making a decision. "Prim," He said "I'm going to get us some sponsors." Then, without warning, he picked me up and threw me over top of his shoulders. He must have felt pretty sure of himself because the motion was swift and careful. The crowd was going crazy! No one had ever done anything like this before. Were they shocked that when we were about to be thrown into an arena to try to kill each other, yet we were so close? It is very confusing. I catch a look at us on the big TV screen and we look like we are sibling. Actually, we really do look alive. We both have blonde hair and blue eyes. We both have small noses. I try to climb into the head of a sponsor seeing us, but we had already made it down to the end of the road and were in front of the President's mansion. President Snow raised his hands to hush the crowd. President Snow was a fat man with a white beard. From here, his eyes looked red. He looked like an animal about to strike his prey. When the crowd had finally settled down he raised his glass. "Welcome tributes! We are delighted to have you here in the Capitol for the 74th annual Hunger Games!" At that, the crowd went nuts! Screams and cheers and laughs. We were going to die and they were cheering! I hate this place and I hate the people who live in it! "And we wish you, Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be ever in your favor!" Then the chariot started forward again I was still on Peeta's shoulders. My head almost hit the ceiling when we went under the doors. We were suddenly surrounded by Cinna and Effie and Portia-Peeta's stylist- and our prep teams. But someone was missing. "Where's Haymitch?" I asked, suddenly wondering how much he drank tonight if he could have passed out. "Is he passed out somewhere?" This comment got a couple of laughs, but not from Effie. "Actually, young lady, he is talking to some people for you and Peeta. Apparently, they liked your brother sister relationship stunt out there and may sponsor you. Depending on your training scores and your interviews of course. You should be happy; he has never stayed this sober for any other tributes before. You may have a chance at surviving the first day" She seemed mad by what I said and she turned away from me and walked. Everyone followed her so I decided I better too.

Part 6

We went up the elevator to a huge room. Effie called it the pent house. The living room alone was bigger than my entire house! It must be bigger than Peeta's too because he let his mouth hang open. "Everyone has their own rooms. Prim, I will show you your room. Cinna? Do you mind showing Peeta his?" I followed Effie down a long hallway and around a corner until I was standing in front of a wooden door with a crystal doorknob. We never saw anything close to this in district 12. Sometimes, we would see the mayor daughter wearing something shiny, but everyone knew even they couldn't afford the real deal. I grabbed it and turned. In my room, there was nothing but the best the Capitol could offer. I had a bed, bigger than the one on the train. I had another bell to ring for any service I needed. I had a mini fridge that when opened, looked like a regular sized one. I walked into the bathroom. I had a bath and a shower separate. One was filled with water and was bubbling. Effie called it a hot tub. The shower had different settings so the water would come down hard or soft, in different directions, and I key pad. I touched it and out came different colors of water. Effie said they were different scents. There had to have been 100 different ones and I would only get to use a few. There were tulips, cupcakes, pies, vanilla, daisy's, and even primrose. The scent of the flower I was named after that I had never seen let alone smell. This would be my first one. I walked out of the bathroom to find I had a tv. Not like the projector that worked only when it wanted to at my house, but something called a flat screen. It was huge! It had a remote to turn to different stations. Cooking, nature, building, and the Capitol news. It would never stay on the news because everything would be about the Games. I had three days of training, and the last night was the interview. Then we were going into the arena. I had four days left before I was to going try to kill the other tributes, and even the person who may have gotten us sponsors. I don't even want to think of his name. Training is nothing like I expected it to be. I thought we would have to follow strict orders, go where we were told, and if we didn't, peacekeepers would show up. Instead we did our own thing. After we were told a little about the different stations, they let us go out on our own. Unlike Katniss, I didn't have anything I could do in the line of weapons. Katniss had a few tricks with a knife, but when she has a bow and arrow, everything she shoots at comes down. Since I needed to think of what weapon to use, I decided to go to the plants and edible fruit section. My father created a book when he was younger and had a bunch of information like what would kill you if you ate it, how to cook certain plants, and which roots could be cooked over a fire in it. Katniss added to it after he died and looked through it a lot to keep our family fed. I looked through it a couple times, and over at that station I was able to master almost everything. There were two berries though. They both looked exactly alike but one would kill you and one was sweet and juicy. The one that would kill you my sister referred to as night lock. There was only one way to tell them apart. Nightlock had a blue inside like the other one, but if you look really close it has tiny seeds. The seeds are actually the poison. I guess if I found that in the arena I would just have to remember the seeds. Peeta was heading over to my station. He had just worked over by the weights. He was able to bench 110 on each side of the bar. 220 pounds in all! It was crazy how strong he really was then to how he looked. "Hey Prim, learn anything useful?" He said. I answered with a smile, maybe he really did want to protect me. If I got the slightest chance of getting back home with Katniss and My mother, then I was willing to have him help me. "Actually yes. You see these berries." I picked up some nightlock, "These will kill you within 2 minutes. But these," I grabbed the other ones "Will be a great side to any meal." Peeta looked at them and said "They look the same. How can you tell them apart?" I smiled; I actually knew something someone else didn't, "Well, when you squish the nightlock, there is these little seeds. But they aren't seed, this is the poison. These don't have any seeds." He looked very impressed with me. "Well" He said "I will keep note of that when I gather for us in the arena." He smiled. I thought of something and said "We can't live on just fruit and roots. One of us will need to learn how to hunt. What if we are thrown into a desert? Or an artic waste land? We may not have berries and fruits. Do you know anything about killing animals? He shook his head "No, I have never been beyond the meadow in the district. The one right before the fence." He lowered his voice. "Do you? Your sister is back there all the time with that Gale Hawthorne." He made a look when he said the name. What did that mean? "Didn't she ever take you back there? Do you know anything about what she does?" I looked at him with disbelieve. I had only been in there once. "Once, but when she shot the deer, I wanted to save it. I didn't want it to die. But she did show me how to skin it and cook it. I will try for these next few days to learn…" I trailed off. "How to…" Think of something or he won't help you. "Shoot! A bow and arrow. My sister has tried to show me so I know at least a couple of things" I grinned, hoping he wouldn't see my lie. Katniss had never let me near her bow and arrows, so I better learn fast. I practiced the bow and arrow the last two days of training. It wasn't as hard as I thought it was. Maybe if I did get back home, I could help Katniss with the hunting. Though I'm still not sure if I could let the animal I shot die. So it would be like a shoot and run for me. Our regular training ended extra early the third day, so we had time for our private sessions. I completely forgot! It's a good thing I learned how to use this thing. Being from district 12 we go last, of course. The outlying districts usually do the worst on training scores because we go last and the game makers are worn out and want to go home. So they just throw out a number, usually no higher than 6. I sat there wondering if I was going to be able to get them to notice me, if I could somehow pull their attention away from each other to get at least an 8. Then, and only then, could I get more sponsors.

Part 7

We sat in the waiting room for the private sessions. Peeta and I are the only two left while Thresh is in there now probably blowing them away even though he is from one of the last districts. With his size, they couldn't not notice him, even if they tried. I know his time is almost up and it will be me next. I want to say something to Peeta but nothing wants to come out of my mouth. I am just to nervous. In a minute, I hear a computerized women's voice call my name. I stand up and am at the door when I hear Peeta say "Prim, good luck." And smiles. I blush a little and smile back "Thanks" I say, and open the doors. I look up in the corner and the game makers are al talking. They are probably drunk and so stuffed full they could puke. They want to go home with their families and take a nap I'm sure, so I won't be getting much attention. "But you have to!" I tell myself as I walk over to the weapons. I pick up a bow, finding it only slightly different than the one I used in training. I found during training that the faster I shoot the arrows the more accurate I am. I look at the game makers again and find them pouring more wine and laughing. I don't know right away what at, then I realize it's me! They are laughing at me! I hear a few of them say "Oh how cute, she thinks she can use a bow!" And "Go on honey, why don't you scoot up a bit?" All of them laugh. They are making fun of me. I give them the meanest look I can which only makes them laugh more, and grab my arrows. I look at them and harshly say "Primrose Everdeen. District 12. Don't forget it while you are drunk." Then turn and start shooting. I do a few moves as I shot at the dummy about 40 yards away. I spin around, tuck and roll. I even jump on a crate and do a flip. I keep shooting my arrows, but never looking where they land. I can't concentrate on that right now. Just grab, load, release, and repeat. When I finish shooting, and the quiver is empty, I find that I did much better than expected. I hit the dummy every time! If they hit a real person, every shot but 3 out of 12 would have killed them! The others would have wounded enough to pull another arrow! I myself am in shock, but keep it hidden. As if I knew I would do it! I look at the game makers and every one of them has their mouth hanging open. I walk toward the balcony where they sit and say very smugly. "Aw how cute! Bugs are starting to fly in their mouths." And I smiled. Then I said, even louder than before, Primrose Everdeen! District 12! Don't forget it when you sober up." And then left.  
When I get back upstairs, everyone except Peeta is getting ready for dinner. I go to my room and I take a fast shower. I didn't realize it but I sweated a lot during shooting. I can't wait to tell everyone, but I will wait for them to ask. So I don't seem cocky. The only scent I have used is Primrose and I'm starting to smell it a lot. I love the smell, even if it is made by these dreaded people. It's weird though, how much I have changed since I have come here. Back home, I would always try to look for the best in people. Here, all I can see in these people is my reflection of hatred for them. I guess not all of them are bad; some might even disagree with the Games. But how can they stand up and say something without being shot before finishing their sentence? I get out of the shower and dress into a blue dress that goes down to my calves. I like this dress. It's pretty and I don't have to be attending a special occasion to wear it. I towel dry my hair and leave the remaining bit wet. I brush through it and go out of my room. In the dining room, Peeta has just showed up and is heading for the table. I take a seat between him and Cinna. I can't wait to tell Cinna about my session today! To tell him that his hard work to make people notice me has not been wasted. But I don't get the chance. As we are all siting there eating, Haymitch and Effie turn to Peeta. "What did you do during your session today?" Peeta replied. "Just threw weights around. I threw a couple spears that hit each dummy I was throwing at in the heart or stomach. They game makers didn't seem very impressed. So after 15 minutes, I left." Haymitch and Effie nodded in approval and went back to eating. I waited for them to ask me. I coughed a few times and "accidentally" kicked the table to get some attention, but it didn't work. I am furious! I might be 12 but I'm still a person! Still a kid! I sat there waiting and when nobody bothered to even look at me, I spilled my drink. All over the table. Peeta got up, "I will go find an avox." He said, and went into the kitchen. Everyone just sat there, waiting for help to come. I am so mad right now that words could never describe how I feel. I stood up suddenly, knocking over my chair, and yelled. "Hey! I'm still alive here! I just had my training session too! No one has bothered to even look at me, let alone ask me what I did! I'm not dead yet, so quit treating me like it!" I turned on my heel and left the table. I walked around the corner to the sitting room and waited for someone to follow me so I could flee to my room. No one came, but I heard Effie say "That girl needs to learn some manners!" I hate her remark but I hate myself more. I don't get mad at people. I'm nice. I always have been. I need to go apologize. I'm about to stand up and go back, but out of nowhere, I heard Peeta. "Wow guys, come on! You have no hope for her at all! Quit worrying about me and help her! That's what I'm doing, in the arena, so you might as well too!" Then I heard footsteps coming for me. I should run to my room and lock the door, but I sit still. I watch as Peeta forms from the corner of my eye, to right in front of me. He doesn't look mad, and he calmly says "Let's get out of here."

Part 8

Get out of here? Where can we go? We are prisoners, waiting the death sentence. But I don't question him and follow. He goes to my room, which is weird, but turns away from my door to another. Huh, I never noticed that. He opens it and we walk up the stairs. I can see the night sky and stars before Peeta and I run ahead of him. Engulfing the night air which I haven't seen for days. I look at Peeta and he is laughing at me. I guess I probably look pretty funny. Taking in deep breaths of air like they are my last, but I can't help it. I lie on my back and just keep breathing in the oxygen. I have needed this. After about 5 minutes, I stand up walk over by him, but he is still laughing. "Hey, I haven't seen the outside in like 4 days! Cut me some slack." I say, but I'm laughing too. He smiles and says "I did the same thing when Cinna showed me this last night, stayed up here until 2 a.m. Didn't really want to leave. So Prim, tell me what happened during your session." He says. I say. "Well, they were pretty much all drunk and worn out. But when I picked up the bow, they started laughing at me and saying stuff like, 'Oh how cute' and 'Why don't you scoot up a little.' And I got mad. So I did my shooting and I did so good, that their mouths were hanging open. I said 'aw how cute, bugs are flying in their mouths.' Then I said really loud, "Primrose Everdeen. Districts 12. Don't forget it when you sober up.' Then I walked out without being dismissed." Peeta looks completely shocked. "I forgot to tell you didn't I?" I'm confused "Tell me what?" I asked. Then he said "Dang it! Haymitch didn't want us to be noticed."

Part 9

We were walking down the stairs and back through the door. We had to go back to Haymitch so we knew what was going to happen. Why wouldn't he want us to stand out? Why wouldn't we want them to remember us? Why wouldn't he want us to have a score that stood out? I was so confused, but we were at the living room and Peeta turned around to face me. "You are going to have to apologize, as well as myself." He said. I was planning on doing that anyway but then he took me to the roof. "No problem." I said. And we turned the corner. Everyone was still at the dinner table, still eating. Effie and the stylists turned and looked at us. Haymitch seemed amused with his glass of red wine. Drunk again. Peeta was the first one to talk, "We have a problem. But first, we wanted to say sorry about our earlier behavior." Peeta looked at me and I looked at the rest of them. Haymitch had finally looked up from his wine and stared at me like he was just waiting for me to come back and apologize. The stylists seemed like it didn't matter to them, that we were right on our behavior. But Effie, oh boy! She was waiting for me to say it so she could rant on and on about manners and being polite. Effie was like that though, but sometimes she says the wrong things at the wrong time, or doesn't say anything when she should. "I am truly sorry about what I said, I hope you can forgive me." I guess I was sorry in some ways. I didn't like getting mad at people, and I usually just hold it in. Effie was about to say something about my manners, but Peeta cut her off. "Haymitch, I forgot to tell Prim that she wasn't supposed to be noticed. Not much anyway. And she is probably the talk of the whole game maker room. Well, why don't you let her tell you what happened." He looked at me, as well as everyone else. I didn't want to tell everyone what I did wrong. "Well," I started. I told them everything I had just told Peeta on the roof. Them laughing at me, where my arrows ended up at, how I got snobby with them, and how they reacted to everything. Everyone, except Cinna, were in the outmost shock. Even Haymitch who, even drunk, still seemed to understand everything that was going on. Why was everyone shocked about this? What did I do that was so wrong? "Uh, guys? Why is it so wrong that they will remember me?" Haymitch stood up and walked over to me. "Prim," He said "Most of the career tributes get the best score right? You do know who the careers are right?" Of course I do. The tributes from 1, 2, and 4. They train their whole life with weapons and survival so when they turn 18, they volunteer to bring pride to their district and their family. They are the best of the best, and even though tributes aren't supposed to train before the games, they do. The capitol likes the things they get from those districts the best, so they have always been the favorites. I nodded my head. "Well," Haymitch went on "Since they are well known the go after people together in the arena. Their training scores usually range between 7 and 9. The game makers don't give out very high scores. But when another tribute gets a higher score than a career, that's who they go after first. If you or Peeta get higher than a career, they are going to try to go after you two. If only one of you gets a higher score, they are still going to kill you both. If Peeta still wants to stay and protect you after what has happened." Peeta made a look at Haymitch, like he wanted to hit him right then and there. The careers are the most powerful, but has anyone ever done anything about them? "Uh, Haymitch? Has anyone ever tried to do better than the careers and actually try to fight them?" He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, no one has ever had the guts to. Why?" I realized what I could do, to show the Capitol something they had never seen before. "Well, I think it's time someone did." We sat on the couch and chairs around the giant TV. Everyone sipping on some fruit drink, but biting on the straws. We were all nervous as we were just minutes away from seeing our training scores. I looked at everyone's anxious faces and thought about what I might have done. Though Mr. Tester is right, this would just be the first step of defying the Capitol. I wasn't sure what else to do, so I would just have to think about it in the arena, but not with Peeta. Nothing I said would be safe anymore. Not even on the roof. Then the screen turned on and a familiar booming voice hit the speakers. Ceaser Flickerman. He was the one who interviewed all the tributes every year. Even my mother can't remember a time when he hadn't been the announcer. He also hosted the tribute parade, everything while we were in the arena, and the interview for the Victor after the games. But tonight, he would reveal our training scores and I was starting to get nervous. Since we are district 12, we were last. And the boy's score was always first so I am dead last. The first district boy pulled 8. That's about right for a career. The tribute girl got a 7. I started to think if I got higher than them if they would still come after me when the giant Thresh is still playing. With such a bigger competitor, maybe they will focus on him before they do me. The 12 year old that got a higher score for being a snob. I looked up in time to see that the boy from 2 got a 9, but the girl tribute got a 6. I wonder what she did for that. It is low for a career. The rest of the tributes were around the 3,4, or 5, But then, the boy from 11 pulled a 7. For a regular tribute, that is amazing! The little girl, Rue, she only got a 4. Maybe when we get in the arena, we can team up. If Peeta and I both die, I want little Rue to win, considering she is my age. Then, on the screen, Peeta's face appeared. Everyone in the room got really quiet and leaned forward. "From District 12," Said Ceaser "Peeta Mellark, with a score of, 7" Everyone cheered! It was about in the middle so not many careers would focus on him, not right away. I looked at Peeta and said "Good job!" and I gave him a big, full hearted smile. He smiled back and gave me a hug, and said in my ear "No matter what you get, I'm still protecting you." And turned back to the screen, just in time for my face to appear. I never actually looked at myself in the mirror since I showered here. "And lastly, Primrose Everdeen, with a score of." He paused and made a face. Was that good or bad? "With a score of, 10." Everyone went silent. No one, not even the servants, were breathing. I got a higher score than all of the careers. All of the Tributes. I looked at Haymitch, who glanced at me-nothing mean or rude- and turned to Peeta. "You better do a good job protecting her, because she is the first person the careers are going after." Relevant

Part 10

_Ringggg!_ Someone set some kind of alarm that wakes me up at 6:00. Even though we aren't working with Haymitch and Effie until 10, I get up out of bed to find the alarm. But as soon as I take my weight off of the bed, the ringing stops. Amazing. I take a shower and go to the dining room for breakfast. No one is in here yet and I swear only my alarm went off. I ring a bell and order some food. Orange juice, oatmeal, eggs, and some kind of stew on rice. Yum. I bet Katniss would like this. Katniss. I suddenly feel very guilty. I haven't been thinking about them lately. I wonder how they have been holding up. I could never do much to help our family, but they love me. They only thing I could do to help was milk Lady and sell cheese. But I can't hunt like Katniss. I can help my mother with patients, but that doesn't pay anything since she doesn't charge for medical assistance. Just as I am eating the last of the stew, Haymitch walks in. He isn't drunk right now, but goes right for the wine. He orders some hash browns and coffee, then sits on the sofa. I wonder how he won his games, but I don't want to ask. It's rude and frankly, if I win, I won't want to talk about mine either. But it may be helpful, the techniques he used to win. "Haymitch?" I say, quietly. Almost hoping he didn't hear me, but of course, he did. "Yes Prim?" He responds. "Well, I was wondering, how did you win your games?" He looks at me, just stares at me. He doesn't look mad, but he doesn't look happy either. "Well Prim, my games weren't normal games." He says. This I already knew. "Yeah, I know, you won the Quarter Quell." I say. He nods, "Yes, That year we had double the tributes. Well, everything went just the same as any other games. People teamed up and people died. I myself, had an ally. She was your mother's friend. I can't remember her name right now, but anyway. So they went on as normal games. When we were down to the last 5 people, my ally wanted to split up. She said she didn't want it to come down to just us two. So she left me. Alone in an arena with 3 careers after us. So I went on. I had a spear and a couple knives. I could hunt. I ate deer and plants and fruit the rest of the day. During my last meal, I heard it. A girls scream. I knew who it was. There was only one girl career left and my ally couldn't take her down alone. I ran in the direction of the scream until I came to an opening in the trees. She was lying on the ground, a knife sticking out of her chest, and breathing for her final moments. I knew the careers would be very close, but I went to her anyway. At this point I was crying, but I held her hand. She whispered to me with her final breath. 'Win' and then her cannon went off. Right after her cannon went off, the careers jumped out of the trees. The girl from district 1 was like the other two's leader. Blonde curls, green eyes, and something about her mouth, the way it curved into an evil smile. I grabbed the knife from her chest and yank it out. It opened her chest even more and I felt sick. I threw it and it hit the boy from two. Now both tributes from one are alive and myself. I ran back to my spot. On the way up, the boy from 1 threw a spear and it hit me in my calf. I kept running, but managed to pull it out. I stopped at the top of the hill and threw it right in the face of the boy. He fell back and I heard two cannons go off. It was just me and the girl from one..." Said Haymitch. He looked depressed thinking about it. Like he didn't want to go on so I stopped him. "Stop, Haymitch, don't continue. I've heard enough." I say because I don't like seeing people upset. He stood up, "Excuse me." He said, walking out of the room. Peeta had been standing behind me the whole time, drinking milk, listening. I didn't realize it until after Haymitch left. "Peeta, did you know about his games?" I ask. He nods "Only a little. I asked him yesterday and he only told me it was bloody. Not nearly as much as he told you." He says. Then, as if on cue, Effie rushes in a steals me away. "Come on darling! We have to start working! I only have 4 hours with you!" She says. Only? 4 hours seems like enough time to teach me how to walk in shoes, but Effie has plenty for me to do. Posture, dress, high heels, where to put my hands and where to look. It takes up 3 hours and 30 minutes. "Do you think you have it down?" She asks me, looking like she hopes I say yes. Which of course I do. "Oh good!" She says and plumps down on my bed. She gives out an exhausted sigh and closes her eyes. But just because her eyes close doesn't mean her mouth does. "Everything has been so busy lately! What with the Games and my hair dresser got fired so I…" I tune her out thinking of home. Katniss is getting off school about now and will be hunting with Gale. If she is hunting. If she hasn't gone into a depression already and isn't even getting out of bed. I don't realize it until Effie holds a tissue to my eyes and wipes away tears that I'm crying. I take the tissue and go into my bathroom. I cry for at least 10 minutes until Effie walks in. "Prim, Prim what wrong." She asks. I respond "I don't want to die! I want to go home, back to my sister." And I start crying again. "You aren't going to die Prim. Peeta is going to keep you safe." And we go back to my bed and sit there. "Prim, you are going to be ok." She says and hugs me. This is not normal behavior from an escort, but I hug her back. Then there is a knock at the door and Peeta walks in. I let go of Effie and go out of the room to find Haymitch. He isn't drunk, and he doesn't look upset anymore. He says right away "Your approach is going to be cute and innocent." Then walks out. I guess he doesn't want to see me right now, and I don't blame him. I just hope this doesn't affect the gifts he sends in the arena. For the next 4 hours I watch TV, eat some food, and take a nap. When I wake up I still have 20 minutes until everyone is supposed to meet for the interviews. I am so mad. I have nothing to remind me of home! No token in which I am allowed one. I didn't think I would be picked, so I didn't wear anything. Then, before I ask if I am allowed, I run to my room where Peeta and Effie are working. I interrupt them, but they don't seem to be doing much. I run over to the pile of clothes I had taken off on the train and start looking through all the items and all the pockets. I find all the things I wore the day of the reaping and search, but I can't find it. "Prim? What are you looking for?" Asks Effie, suddenly behind me. I can't answer, I just keep looking. Finally when finding it seems hopeless, I give up, lean against my bed, cover my face, and cry. Why can't I find it? Where is it! Effie sits beside me and Peeta stands in front of me. "Prim?" Asks Peeta. I look up. "What are you looking for sweetie?" That's what Gale called me at the Justice Building. I take a deep breath. "Katniss gave me a bracelet, two days before the Reaping. I never took it off because she said it would be good luck. I forgot about it and I wanted it to be my district token. But I can't find it." Effie and Peeta both stared at me. Effie got up and told us to stay there. Peeta sat down and grabbed my hand. When Effie came back in 20 minutes later, she held out my bracelet. "Oh my Gosh Effie! Where did you find it?" I asked, reaching for it. "Well, I didn't find it. Someone turned it in to the lost and found. I guess it slipped off your wrist. I had to get it passed by security, and then I had it sized so it was smaller and wouldn't fall off again." She said. I let go of Peeta's hand, jumped up from my sitting position, and gave her a huge hug. She returned it. "Thank you so much Effie." I said into her ear. "No problem honey." She answered. It was then I realized, not every capitol person is bad. Even if they do pick the kids to be killed.

Part 11

We are on our way down stairs and to the waiting room before I know it. We have to sit with all the tributes and watch on the big TV screen, all of the interviews. I am second to last, so I have to sit and watch each one. Get to know my competitors without wanting to, only to be thrown into an arena tomorrow to try to kill them. It's really not fair, to make us know about our fellow tributes. But when is it fair to kidnap 24 kids and kill 23? I sit directly next to Peeta in another lush room with expensive furniture and refreshments, which of course, I can't consume. It would all just reappear, and probably on stage. I'm hoping to talk to Peeta, and keep my mind off the interviews, but his seems to be focused on them. Probably trying to see who poses the biggest threat to us. Of course the careers will. They are the deadliest competitors any of us will have. The girl from 5 looks pretty sly too. I saw her working in training and she knows a lot about the plants and animals. So we will defiantly keep an eye on her. Then there is Thresh, who towers over all of us. He is the scariest looking one actually. But Rue, his district partner, has to be at least 1 foot and a half shorter than him, with no real chance of winning. But what about me? I don't have a great chance of winning either, not without Peeta and even then! But I don't want to think about that right now. I'm only a short time from my interview and I need to talk to Peeta. I want to tag along another ally. So by the time the girl from district 3 is on, and Peeta isn't paying attention to her, I make my move. "Peeta, I want to add an ally." I say in a whisper. He looks at me kind of confused. "Who?" He asked. "Rue." I said very low because she is sitting right beside me. "Why do you want her?" He asks. "Well, she is my age and I know how scared she is. Also, it wouldn't hurt really. Having an extra pair of eyes watching around us isn't such a bad idea." I say, almost in a pleading voice. He considers this a moment and says. "Okay, I don't see any problems with that other than she as to come alone. And if it comes down to just us three, I will kill her. But not with a sword or something, just poison her. You do understand that is going to have to happen right?" I nod. Of course this would have to her fate, Peeta wants me to home and won't allow her to win. But she might be able to keep Peeta and myself alive with whatever skills she can do. "Yes, I know. Can I ask her now?" I ask, happily. He nods, smiles, and turns back to the TV where the girl from 6 is already up. He missed district 4, but will be able to see them tonight when we watch them all again. I lean over and start talking softly. "Hi Rue." I say with a smile. "Hello, Primrose?" She asks. "Yes, well, Prim for short." And I give a small laugh. She smiles, but only half-hearted. I know what she is thinking. You got a 10 in training and you are talking to me? Why? So I just come out and ask her. "Do you want to be our ally?" She just looks at me. "Peeta and I are teamed up and we wanted to know if you wanted to help us out." I say. "Well, I can't do much, just gather and start fires. I can only use a slingshot, but I don't want to kill anyone unless I absolutely have to. I can climb trees, and I'm fast. That's about all, though." That didn't matter to me. Plus with her gathering, Peeta and I can do more stuff. "That's fine. We still want you." I say. "Okay, but where will we find each other?" I never talked to Peeta about this, but he looked around me at Rue and said. "I will check our surrounding while we wait that one minute. I will point to a direction we can all go so that no one has to go near the cornucopia. I will try to grab a pack close, but neither of you is to go in there. Okay?" Rue and I both nodded and Peeta smiled. "Good, welcome to the alliance Rue." He stuck out his hand and shook Rue's. That was it. Three people in our group, and we were going to persevere.

Part 12

By the time Rue left and it was only Peeta and myself in the room, I was shaking and sweating. Peeta hadn't looked at me until now, and by the look on his face, I must have looked really nervous. Probably green with sickness because I felt like I was going to see my lunch again. He called for a servant to bring me water and grabbed my hand. "Prim? It's okay, it's just an interview. Don't worry." He says as calmly as he can. "Easy for you to say, Haymitch actually stayed with you for more than 30 seconds. He told me to be cute and innocent." I say, scared as I see the time winding down. "He didn't help you? I'm going to kill him. Anyway Prim, just think of it like this, my interview is going to be 10x harder than yours. Just go with cute and innocent like Haymitch said." He says. I look at his eyes. "Why is yours going to be harder?" I ask, curious. "Well, I can't say right now, but you just watch my interview and you will see." He says, and a body guard of some sort shows up. Peeta hugs me and lets go of my hand. "Remember, cute." He reassures me with a smile. I return it with one of my own and am led down the hallway until I am on the edge of the stage. Thresh is just walking off the stage as Ceaser is introducing me. "And now, from district 12, the girl that got an 11 in training, who blew us away at the opening ceremonies," 'Please Ceaser, stop bragging me up. I have enough problems the way it is.' I think to myself. "Primrose Everdeen!" I need to make a good impression, for the sponsors. So instead of walking out there like the other tributes did, I skip merrily with a giant grin on my face, until I bounce in front of Ceaser. He is laughing along with the audience. I give them my cutest smile and joyfully take my seat.  
"Well, I have never seen a tribute do that before" He says still laughing.  
"Well, I am one of a kind Ceaser!" I exclaim. I don't really like doing this. Acting like I enjoy this when in fact I don't. I don't want to share my life with these people, but I'm going to. If I want to go home.  
"So Prim, how are you liking the capitol? What so far has impressed you?"  
The food comes to mind first, but I go with the showers.  
"The Capitol is fantastic! What I really love right now is the showers. We don't have anything like them back at home! They give off scents, and are really warm, like rain!" I say, just a bit too joyfully. '_Tone it down a little.' _I think to myself.  
"Well, I am glad you like it." He says and smiles. "Now, usually I ask more questions, but this one has been on the mind of many people." He asks.  
"Yes?" I say respectfully.  
"Well, at the Reaping, there was a young girl. About 16 years old. When your name was called out, she looked like she was going to get sick, but then the cameras went back to you. Do you know her?" He asks.  
"Um, yes Ceaser I do. She is actually my sister." I say.  
"Yes, of course she is. Can you tell us about her?" He asks.  
Of course I can, but I really don't want to. But I need the sponsors if I want to see her again, so I do.  
"Well, Katniss has been keeping me safe for the last 5 years. After my father died in a mine explosion, she has been buying the stuff for our family and working for it while my mother stayed busy as a healer." I say. I had to lie just a little because if I said she has been hunting in the woods, she would be executed and my mother would be arrested for not being able to take care of her kids.  
"And she has always been there for you?" He asks.  
"Of course she has! She loves me more than she loves herself. She has been working so hard to keep me safe." I say.  
"And despite all she has done for you, she didn't volunteer? That seems a bit odd." He says. That comment really makes me furious!  
"Well Ceaser," I say calmly not to lose my temper. "If the cameras had stayed on her longer, you would have seen that she fainted. That by the time she came to, Effie had already led me into the Justice Building." I finish.  
"Oh, my dearest apologizes. I had no idea that's how it had happened. Well, I do hope that you can make it back to her Primrose." He says.  
I smile, still showing my cuteness, and say "Please, call me Prim. And thank you. I hope to see her again in a few weeks as well." I say, even though I'm not sure I will get back. Then my buzzer goes off and Ceaser reaches for my hand. I let him grab it and help me up. "Ladies and gentlemen, Prim Everdeen!" He says raising my hand above me. He let's go after a long applause, and I walk back where I can from. While I'm on my way, I give the audience a big smile and blow them all a kiss.

Part 13  
I pass Peeta on my way back. "Great job Prim!" He says as I walk by. "Good luck!" I say, and walk back where I came from. Effie told me to come back here, but she isn't here. Neither is Haymitch. I turn the corner to a hallway and find a lot of rooms, all marked with numbers up to 12. I suppose that this is where we go, just walk in the room with our district number and probably find Haymitch or Effie. But when I turn the door knob of the door marked 12, I don't find a green colored lady or a drunken skink. I find screens. A lot of TV screens. At first, I'm not sure what I'm looking at. Everything looks so foreign at first, than it hits me. It's district 12! It's the square, the Justice Building, Victor's Village, the town shops. And the Seam. I see the Seam with the few working light bulbs, smoking chimney's, light from the windows, and my house. My old, broken up house with gutters bench and wood missing. The wire pen where Lady gets milked, and the tree that Buttercup loves to climb and stalk birds. I can even hear the sound of the night creatures that I always listened to as I fell asleep at night. I miss those sounds. I close my eyes an imagine I am in my bedroom, getting ready to get into bed, when I am interrupted. I long scream coming from a girl. Then, I see a small figure run out of my house and down the street. Turning here and there, cutting through back yards, until it finally stops under a street light that works and I make out Katniss. She catches her breath and runs toward Gale's house. Then I see two figures run from Gale's house into the direction of the woods. Why are they going to the woods not only this late, but during the interviews. This type of thing is mandatory, until I think of how long I have been in here. Maybe the interviews are over. I hear the door behind me start to open and panic. I run behind the door just as someone from the Capitol opens it. He walks straight the screen without bothering to make sure the door closes. I know I shouldn't be in here, so I whip around the door and let it fall shut. I walk down the hallway as fast as I can to make sure I don't draw any attention to myself. I get out just in time to see Effie and Haymitch show up with Peeta. Effie is looking worried until she sees me. "Where have you been!?" She all but screams at me. "We have been searching everywhere for you! You were told to come back here!" She says again. "Effie, I did, but no one was here. So I thought I was in the wrong place so I went searching for you. I'm sorry." She looks at me like she is actually a little sorry for yelling and freaking out at me. "Well, I guess it really doesn't matter now. But let's get back up to the pent house shall we?" And she gives me a smile. One that says she is not only sorry, but that I actually mean something to her. Like, she might actually miss me if I get killed in the arena. I can't see this being true considering this is something she looks forward to every year. This event is what she lives for. Yet, she seems almost upset that I was chosen. And in some weird way, it upsets me. I haven't realized how much Effie and Haymitch mean to me, considering I may never see them again. How much I am going to miss them when I get into the arena. How much they will miss me, if I die.

Part 14

Dinner is silent, except the small talk between Cinna and Portia about some kind of clothes that are now "all the rage" in the Capitol. I haven't seen the outside world since that night on the roof. And since every other night after tonight will be some type of man-made sky, I decide to go outside tonight. When we are done with our sea food dinner, everyone goes to the living room. I order another fruit drink that I had at dinner and wait. I sit there and watch the interviews. Of course, the first tribute is the girl from 1. I have this weird feeling for her after hearing Haymitch's story about his games. I don't hate her, I just don't like how she much she looks like the person Haymitch described. Her hair is also blonde, but straight. She has green eyes as well and her smile, well, I can't really say it is evil. She looks almost hopeful that she will get back home. The same way I do. "Effie?" I whisper. "Yes Prim?" She answers. "Could you wake me up for my interview, I am really tired." I say. She nods and says "Of course." Then summons an avox to get me a pillow and blanket. When I'm snug, I close my eyes and fall into sleep. The last thing I remember is seeing the boy from 1 walk off the stage.

"Prim, Prim, your interview is almost on!" Is what I am waked up to. Plus Effie's violent shaking of excitement. Of course, I should have just asked to be waken for Peeta's interview because I don't want to see myself on TV. I probably look so stupid. But it may have gotten me sponsors. Anyway, it's just me, skipping onto the stage, cute silly laughs, a little mad, and then blowing a kiss to the audience. Nothing much to look at. Then Peeta comes on, and that changes.  
"So how is the Capitol treating you Peeta?" Ceaser asks.  
"Great, it's different here. Much different than in District 12." Peeta says.  
"Really? How so?" Asks Ceaser.  
"Well, water actually comes out of the ceiling. And it is warm!" Peeta and Ceaser laugh. He already has the crowed; that is obvious.  
"So Peeta, do you have a girlfriend back home?" Ceaser asks. Always something personal.  
"No, not really." Peeta says, smiling at the ground.  
"Oh pish posh! I bet the girls are dying to be with you! Peeta…tell me."  
"Well, this one girl at school has caught my eye. Actually, more than caught my eye. She has stolen my heart, but I don't think she knows that I exist." He looks back at the ground and has a sad expression.  
"Well, Peeta. That's an easy fix. You win the games, go home, and she will be begging for your attention." Says Ceaser.  
"Actually Ceaser, If I win, that would completely destroy my chances with her. I'm better of dying in the arena." Peeta says. Everyone else has seen his interview, but I haven't. I look at him strange, but he seems to be avoiding eye contact. So I turn back to the screen.  
"That is highly unlikely Peeta. Would you care to explain why you think that?" Asks Ceaser.  
"Well, my district partner Prim. It's her sister, the girl I love back home. And that's why I want Prim to win and go back home. So her and her sister can be happy." Peeta says.  
I gasp. Did he just say that? I look at him and everyone looks at me. "Excuse me" I say, and walk out of the room. I walk down the hallway and up to the roof. I sit there. I'm not really sure why this bothers me, but it does. He loves Katniss? That explains seeing her run to the woods with Gale. This shouldn't really matter actually. It will only boost my chances of getting home, and Peeta isn't the one to play any tricks. Or is he? Is he going to poison my food to make it look like an accident? Then go home to Katniss? No, I don't think he would do that. I hear the door open behind me and I don't have to turn to see who it is. "You know, Katniss isn't going to get married anyway. She never wants to risk bringing a child into the world." I say, even though I'm not sure why. He laughs and stands beside me. "Prim, you know that's why I want to get you home right? So you will be happy. So Katniss will be happy." He smiles at her name, and then frowns. "So Hawthorne will feel better..." What is up with him and Gale? Did they get into a fight or something at school? "Peeta? Why do you hate Gale so much?" I ask before I realize the words are even coming out of my mouth. "Oh Prim, I don't hate him, I'm jealous of him." Jealous? Jealous of what? Peeta's family owns a business in town and can afford basically anything. Gale starves. Peeta has a mother, father, and brothers. And he doesn't have to worry about feeding his family. Gale has a mother and 3 siblings to feed. What would he possibly be jealous of? "Of what Peeta?" He looks at me and answers "Katniss. He is always hunting with her and at her house and hanging out with her." He says. "Oh, that makes sense" I say. He decides something then says. "Prim, you said Katniss doesn't want to marry, but she has a boyfriend. Why?" I look at him really confused, and then simply say. "She doesn't have a boyfriend; Gale is just a friend and a hunting partner. I mean, how else could she keep our family fed?" He looks sad again, and then sighs. "She could have always asked me. I would have given you anything you guys needed." He says. "But Gale is her boyfriend Prim, it couldn't be more obvious." I don't like that he is doubting me. "Peeta, he really isn't, I think I would know. I live with her." He casually says. "Oh what do you know, you're only 12." But when the words come out, I hate the way they sound. "Peeta, I may be 12, but I am a lot smarter than you think! I know many different pants that are edible, I know how to shoot, I know how to get a 10 in training, and I think I know what my own sister wants for her future, and a husband is not part of it!" I raise my voice because if I don't he will never understand what I am saying. Peeta looks shocked at my intensity and raises his voice as well. "Prim, you don't see her like I do at school; she really does have something with him! They walk to every class together and the way he looks at her, the way he want to just lean down and kiss her every time they have to leave each other! That's how I know they are together. Believe what you want but I know the truth!" He exclaims. I look him right in the eye and say, "My family and myself have been through a lot, seen a lot, and done a lot. But the one thing I never do is lie. So believe me when I say, They are not a couple!" I exclaim back. He looks mad now, but not like he would rip my head off. Not yet at least. The next thing he says to me is so unexpected. "Sometimes I wonder if I really should protect you. Or if I should just try to get home myself!" He says, and then quickly regrets his words. He must see the hurt on my face because he goes right to apologizing. "Prim, I didn't mean that, I'm sorry." But I'm too sad and to mad at him right now, that my next words aren't even my own. "Fine!" I say with a few tears escaping my eyes. "Don't be my ally, I don't want you now anyway! It will just be Rue and I." I say, tears really running now. "Hang on a minute-" He says but I cut him off. "No, you wait. I'm serious. I don't need your help, and I don't want you anymore. Don't come near me, because I will just walk away." I say, I turn and leave. I go to my room when the tears really come out. I hope kicking Peeta out just doesn't affect what I have with Rue.

Part 15  
I know sleep is too much to ask for at this point, but I can't go back out there and risk seeing Peeta again. I regret what I said, but after what he said, I don't know if I can trust him. So I take a long shower, with the Primrose scent running the whole time. I really like the smell, even though they kind of remind me of home. Home. The place I hope to be in a week. Hopefully the game are over by then and everyone is dead and I can leave! But I don't want anyone to die. I wish we could just all go home. But tomorrow, we will be thrown into the arena. I go to my bed and realize it is really late. It's almost 10:30. I lay down and fall asleep.  
My dream is bad. I'm already in the games. It's the last fight and I'm running from the girl from 2. She tackles my but I try to fight back. I get a good look at the girl and she turns into someone I know. Katniss. I scream and hug her. She hugs me back and we stay like that. No other tributes are around for awhile, then I see him. Peeta runs through the bushes with a sword in his hand. He runs over to us and lifts Katniss off the ground. She kisses him. He towers over top of me as he raises the sword. It comes down on me and I wake with a scream. I'm sweating and still screaming. I wish Katniss was her. Not the one in my dream, the real Katniss. Once I calm myself down, I make a decision. I have to get out of this room. It's about midnight and Peeta should be in bed, along with everyone else by now. I walk out of my room and order a hot drink. I'm not really sure what it is called, but it's good. I walk around to different parts of the apartment. It's actually nice. Just walking around, no one following me or trying to put me in giant heals. It's peaceful and quiet… And then I hear footsteps. I look for something to hide because I really don't want to see anyone right now. I try to jump on the couch, but that only makes a noise. Sending whoever was up coming my way. Ugh. It better not be Peeta! And it's not, it's Haymitch. "Prim? Is that you?" He asks.  
I sigh and lift myself to a sitting position. "Yes, it's me." I say.  
"What are you doing? You need to get to sleep. It will be hard in the arena." He says. He is right about this though. I will always have to be alert and will have trouble falling asleep when I know people are hunting me.  
"Yeah, I know. I just couldn't fall asleep. It's hard now that I broke my alliance with Peeta. I'm going to have less protection, just Rue." I say. He looks at me in shock then slowly says, "You broke your alliance with Peeta?"  
"Yes, I did. We got in a fight a couple hours ago. I yelled, he yelled, and then he said he wasn't sure if I should go home or if he should. So I broke the alliance there and told him I was going to be with Rue." I say  
Haymitch just looks at me, and says "Apologize. Now. Go to his bedroom, wake him up, and get him back as an ally. How exactly are you going to kill Rue? You can't! Now get back with Peeta so he can do it for you. So you can go home."  
"But I-"I say, but he cuts me off.  
"No buts! Go!" He exclaims. I stand up and walk toward Peeta's room. Haymitch's voice stops me. "Prim, I will make sure you actually talk to him." He says. I can't do this, I'm still to mad. I turn to Haymitch and say. "No, I can take care of myself. I don't want Peeta's help. And you can't force me to be ally's with him." I turn and go to my room, and lay under the covers. I cry and cry until finally, I fall asleep.

Part 16  
I am woken by Cinna. "Prim, time to get up." He says, shaking me a little. I don't know exactly how much sleep I really got. I had a nightmare last night that Katniss stepped up to take my place and she was the first one to be killed. After Katniss was laying on the ground dead, I was behind her. Even though there was still fighting going on around me, all I could do was try to wake her up. I tried to wake her and I cried over top of her. Finally, I looked up and saw Peeta over top of me with a sword raised high. He came down hard and I shot straight up. I should have known Peeta would haunt my dreams tonight. "Prim, come on. We have to get you showered and prepped in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then to the hovercraft that takes you to the arena. Come on." I get up and get in the shower. For the last 10 minutes of it, I don't even use water, just the primrose scent. I wash off the suds and towel dry off. I look at the Hot tub. That's what Effie called it. I meant to get in it, but never did. And now I never will. I should have made things right with Peeta, but now it's too late. Maybe Cinna can tell Portia to tell Peeta to pretend like last night never happened. I throw on my robe and run out. "Cinna, am I allowed seeing Peeta?" I ask, hoping it's not too late. "Well, let me call Portia. But I would think it would be alright. If he's not in the shower." He says. Hopeful, I run over to Cinna who has pulled out some type of small screen. He touches it and a picture of him, a woman, and a baby appears. "Is that your family?" I ask. "Yes, we had these pictures taken last spring." He answers. The baby has the light brown skin and big brown eyes just like him. His wife also has light brown skin and a very dark colored hair. "They don't have the freaky Capitol look." I say, before thinking that it may offend him. He just laughs and says, "No, we don't like how everyone looks. And since we can't leave without being captured, we decided to just stay normal. I think that's why I fell in love with her. She feels the same way about the Capitol as myself." He says. I think of the weird people in this city. Different colored skin, rainbow hair, tattoos everywhere. For the first time, I look at Cinna. The only thing different about him is the gold eyeliner, and it actually makes him look good. He presses a few buttons and puts the screen to his ear. "Hey Portia, is Peeta ready? Oh, well can you hand him the phone. Hello Peeta? This is Cinna. Prim wanted to see you so put the phone on the ground." Cinna hits a button and Peeta appears in front of me. I let my mouth hang open. He is actually right there. Right in front of me. I reach out to touch him, but my hand passes through him. It's like a projection. "Hey Prim." He says. "Hey Peeta." I say. We stay in silence for a minute before Portia and Cinna say at the same time "Why don't we give you two some privacy." He walks into the bathroom and I hear another door close. "Peeta?" I say. "Prim, I'm sorry about last night. I still really want to be your ally. I do want to protect you. But if you don't trust me I totally understand." He says. I respond. "Peeta, I didn't sleep last night. Haymitch told me to go wake you up and get you back for an ally. I was really mad that I was being forced so to, say I got mad and went to my room. I had a nightmare last night and I know this is really selfish, but I want you as an ally again. I totally trust you." I leave out my dream, trying not to think of it myself. "Prim, I'm going to get you home." Something I have heard from him 1,000 times. But this time, it means something. I smile. "Peeta, point to the direction we are going." He smiles to. Portia comes in and says he needs to get prepped. We don't say goodbye, we say see you soon. Cinna walks in and my prep team enters as well. They lay me on a table and strip me of my robe. Cinna leaves and gives them permission to do whatever they want, but no Capitol look. And he wants to do my hair. They finish drying me off and start waxing again. By the look on my face they know I'm holding in a scream, so Venia gives me a rag to put in my mouth and I scream into it. Finally, one more strip. On my eyebrow. But when she rips it, I feel a warm liquid cover my eye. Octavia shrieks and Cinna comes rushing in. He looks, not mad, but not happy. He tries to joke about it but the rag has fallen out of my mouth and I'm screaming now. The pain is so fierce. Worse then I seems. The pain rushes through my face and down my neck. "Flavius, call the medics!" I hear Venia say. Cinna comes over and grabs the rag. He presses it against the wound which only makes it hurt worse. The medics come in and are well equipped. They pull out a needle and thread. They numb my face and the pain leaves. I sit there, being help down by Cinna and Octavia. She seems better now that the gash is being closed. I feel bad though. I'm very light headed and helping my mother heal people, I know I have lost a lot of blood. I get really dizzy and I think I throw up. The numbness has left and I'm screaming again. The pain shoots all over my face and I have to keep my eyes closed shut. Flavius just keeps apologizing, and I lose conciseness.

Part 17  
I wake up and go right back out. I see trees and the sun, then darkness again. This occurs about 3 times until I'm finally awake. I sit up but find I'm very weak. I feel above my right eye and find stitches that send shocks of pain down my face again. I'm not fully aware of where I am. I force my eyes to stay open and see leaves. I think I'm in a bush. I reach out and grab something red. Berries. Yeah, I'm in a bush. Why am I in a bush? Then it hits me. "Oh no." I whisper. They have put me into the arena. I shouldn't be surprised really, since they have to have a female tribute. But still obviously needing medical attention and they put me in. What do they care though? They brought me here in the first place. I'm sure to be on camera now. So I don't let any weird emotions cross my face. To my right I find a backpack. I grab it and find 3 containers of water in it. I drink about half of one and put it back. I also have bread, beef, dried fruit, fresh strawberries, matches, fire starters, a blanket, a pillow, and bow. There is no sheath of arrows though. Wow. I would have traded in some strawberries for a sheath to get meat. How long has it been? Since the Games started? An hour? A day? A week? How many people are dead? How many alive? Are Peeta and Rue still alive? Where are they? Do they have food and weapons? Are any of the careers dead? I need to get up and find Peeta, if he's alive. I can't though, I'm really weak and I want to sleep. I eat a piece of bread with 2 beef strips on it. I find it challenging to even eat this. So I put half of it away for later. I start to gather sticks from around me. I cut in the end of one side right in the middle so it fits my bowstring. I sharpen the other end. After about an hour I have two dozen hand-made arrows. It's the best I can do. It's starting to cool down and it's getting dark. I pull my blanket and pillow. The blanket is actually a sleeping bag and it seems to reflect body heat. I'm about to go to sleep, when a cannon fires. Then the anthem starts playing. I look up in the sky and see a lot of people. Both from 3, boy from 4, boy from 5 both from 6, both from 7, girl from 8 and 9, and boy from 10. Eleven of us dead, and I'm guessing that it's the first day. Most of those deaths were from the bloodbath I'm sure. So I was only out until about 6 this evening and they wanted to make sure I had enough stuff to fight when I came to, but I don't think they expected me to be in the Games this fast.

Part 18  
Just sitting in my little bush, I'm able to take down 3 rabbits and a squirrel. They are good meat, but I hate having to watch them die. I hate pointing the arrow and drawing the bowstring that takes its life. It's like I can hear Katniss saying to me, as she always used to, "There are millions of animals, but there's only one me, one mom, and one Prim." I try to remember that when some wild bird comes into view. I take it down in a second. I'm about to get up to get it, when I hear footsteps. Not one pair, but several. They sound to be either slowly jogging or walking fast. I think of making a run for it, but I think I might be too weak yet. So I load another arrow into my bow and stay very still. I hear a bunch of laughing. "Wow, that was almost too easy!" I hear a voice say. I think that's the boy from two. "Well, she was kind of out in the open. I wonder where the boy was." That's the girl from two. I think. "I don't know, but he and his district partner are next. I can't stand that girl. What's her name? Prim?" Says the boy from two again. Oh no! Not only are they looking for me, but Peeta too! And I think they killed Rue! "I don't remember seeing Prim with them, Cato. I saw Peeta? I think is his name. And Rue. So at least we got her out of the way. 1 for 3 isn't bad on the second day." Says the boy from one. So the boy from two's name is Cato. "Well, I want to find both of them now. We are going back to camp. Marvel, start a fire there. Clove, get dinner ready. And if we find Glimmer, I kill her. I want it to be slow and painful for what she did to us. Oh yeah, what is the watch schedule tonight." Says Cato to someone on his right. "Well, we each take 3 hours. Me, then Clove, then Marvel, then you." Says a girl who I'm guessing to be from District 4. Districts 1,2, and 4 all team up at the beginning of the games. They aren't looking at me right now so I slowly lift my bow and point it at the girl from 4. When I release, I start to think it's a bad idea, but they won't know where it came from. The arrow hits her head and she goes down immediately. The others look in shock for all of one second, and pull out their own weapons. Cato is looking around and Clove is throwing knives like crazy. In every direction but mine. "Who did that? Where did it come from!" Yells Marvel. They walk over to the dead girl and her cannon goes off. "Hey look at this." Says Clove. She pulls out the arrow and holds it up for the others to see. "There was one bow at the cornucopia, but no one took it. So someone has made their own." They look around again, but when they don't find me, they leave. "Come on, we need to get back before whoever the owner to this is can kill someone else." Says Marvel. As they walk away, I hear Cato say, "In training, I only saw one person around the bows. So I have a pretty good idea who it is."

Part 19

Did I really just kill that girl? Did I just take a human life, just because I had nothing better to do? She could have went with them, and carried on like the planned. She would be getting ready to sit watch for the next 3 hours, but now she is being picked up by the hovercraft. I whisper goodbye to the girl, wishing I could take my arrow back. I know all the cameras are on me now, and decide it's time to move. I slowly pack up my stuff and eat the rest of my sandwich from earlier. I put the pack on my back, load my bow, and take off. I head for the direction the careers came from. Since they just killed Rue, maybe I can find Peeta. Apparently, from what I heard, he ran off that first day with Rue, which was yesterday. I think I finally take in what I just heard. They killed Rue. Little Rue who looks like she is 10 years old, but is my age. Who is so sweet and teamed up with us thinking she would be safe. Maybe she would have done better on her own. We will never know. Tears start to spill, but I hold them back. I'm sure the cameras see me now, all of Panem wondering what my next move is. I start to run, until I come across the blood. I see it on the trees and the grass and the bushes and the flowers. Everything beautiful, ruined by the stain of her blood. It must be Rues. Though, I didn't see the hovercraft appear, and I didn't hear the cannon. I hear a faint moan, and look down. There, lying at me feet, is a very broken Rue. Alive, not dead, but not well. "Rue!" I exclaim. I bend down and grab her hand. Her eyes close as I encase her hand in my own. No! She didn't just die! And I'm right. I check her pulse. Very slow, and seems to be pounding for life. I reach in my pack and grab a piece of cloth that I missed before. I put it over the wound that is bleeding the worse. I press down hard above her eyebrow. Right where mine was. Only hers goes across to the other eyebrow. And it is much deeper. I can actually see the skull. It's a good thing I helped my mother heal her patients back home, or I wouldn't know what to do. I reach back in my pack and get the pillow. I gently, ever so gently, lift her head and lay it back down. I'm just reaching for the green leaves that I have the luck of finding right close by when I hear footsteps. I raise my bow and aim it in the general direction. I see him push through the bushes with a small bucket of fruit and a spear with a couple fish. "Peeta!"

Part 20  
"Prim?" He asks, as if not sure it's really me. "Prim!" He drops the fish and berries and runs toward me. I drop my bow and he is already here. He grabs me and lifts me up spinning me. "I didn't know what happened to you! I didn't see you at the bloodbath and I thought I lost you the first day! But then you weren't in the sky last night. I didn't know what happened. Rue and I have been looking for you since we met up yesterday. Rue! Prim found us!" He says putting me down. "Rue? I left her right here, where did she go?" He says, obviously not seeing her behind the tree. "Peeta." I say. He looks at me and sees my expression. "No, no! That wasn't her cannon. No! It can't be!" He looks like he is going to cry. I'm quick to assure him, "No! Not that. But close. Come on." I grab his hand and lead him behind the tree. He sees the blood on the ground before he sees her. She has the gash on her forehead, a cut on her arm, and what looks to be a broken leg. I didn't actually see anything but the gash before. We both go to her and I tell Peeta to get as many green leaves as her can. If you mix the leave with some water, and make sure they are mushed up, it will thicken. He gets the pale of berries and I pick one up. Suddenly, scared to death, I yell. "Oh my Lord! Please tell me you didn't eat any of these!" Peeta looks at me weird, but finally says "No, I didn't. Why?" I relax, and take the bucket of berries and throw then in a small creek to my left. "Why are you throwing them out?" Asks Peeta. "Well, they are nightlock. Remember the berry I showed you in training?" I ask. "Yes, how do you know?" He asks. I hold up the one berry I kept, squeezed it, and watched the seeds come out. "The little seeds. Remember? You made a mental note of it." I said. He remembers and looks at me. "Prim, you saved my life. I surely would have eaten those if you hadn't been here. I would have been dead. Thank you." He says. "Well, it's just something I picked up from my father and sister." I say, smiling. "Well, you will get to learn more from your sister when you get home." He says. I feel bad, knowing it is finally happening. Peeta will be dead probably within a week in the hopes I will get home. And even then it could be a wasted effort. I don't want to kill anyone else. Not after the girl from 4 went down. I try to give him a small smile, but I know one does not show on my face. We need to work on Rue. The cut on her arm isn't bad, and it doesn't have much of a chance of getting infected either. Peeta has a pack too. He pulls out a bandage and wraps it around her arm. I go to work on her leg. It's obvious that it is broken. I gather some sticks and masking tape from Peeta's pack. Now would be the time to move the bone as much as I can because she won't be aware of what it happening. Then we hear the cannon. My fingers go to Rues neck to check her pulse, and Peeta's go over her mouth to make sure she is still breathing. She is still alive, but her pulse is going down. She has lost a lot of blood. "Peeta, take off the bandage on her arm and put some of the green mix on it. Then apply more to her forehead." I say. He does just that and I get ready to move her leg. "Peeta, grab that rag and put it in her mouth. She might scream and I don't want to give away our location." I say. He puts it in her mouth, but doesn't stuff it in there. Good. I grab the part of her leg that's most out of whack, and quickly, sharply, turn it so it goes straight again. As I predicted, she screams her head off at this. Peeta covers her mouth while I put two sticks on either side of her leg and use the masking tape to tape all around her leg. At least it's not a compound fracture. I sit back as she finishes screaming. "Well, that's that with her leg." Peeta is applying the last bit of green mix to her head, which is already looking better. He comes over and sits beside me. "Wow, you are amazing with this healing stuff. Are you going to follow in your mothers footsteps?" He asks. Actually, I haven't really thought about it. I knew I wanted to get married and have at least one baby because I love babies. I thought maybe my husband would be able to bring in enough money, or own his own shop in town. Then I could work there or stay home with the kid. "I'm not sure. Maybe, if I even get back home." I say. He looks like he is going to argue that I will make it back, but I stop him. "Hey, can you get those branches laying on the ground. The thick ones. I'm going to make her some crutches." He gets them and I realize I don't have a knife. Peeta grabs one from his belt, and hands it to me. I go to work carving them and cutting out handles she can hold onto. I lay beside her and find we are the same height. When I'm done, I can walk with them, so she should be able to as well. I turn to Peeta, "What else do you have in there?" I ask him. He grabs the pack and pulls out two sleeping bags, one pillow, more masking tape cloth, some crackers, more dried fruit, a knife, and some sun glasses. "They actually let you see at night, not during the day." He tells me. It's already dark, so I try them on. They do work really well in the dark. I can see everything. The birds, the plants, the trees, and I can even see Rue's blood. Oh no. "What are we going to do Peeta? With Rue. We can't stay out in the open, it's not safe. And we can't exactly carry her up a tree." He considers this a moment and says to follow him. We get to this big tree with think branches. "This is where we slept last night. I was actually able to fall asleep 30 feet up. I have an idea." He says, reaching for his pack. He pulls out a very long piece of rope, probably 100 feet long. He tears off a piece of very thick bark, and puts it over the rope. He ties the rope enough so it holds the bark and still goes over the first branch we can get to. We go get Rue and put her on there. He says since he is stronger, I will have to climb the tree. I never learned how in training. Gale told me to learn how in training, but I forgot. I go over to the tree and stand at the base. Katniss can climb like a squirrel, maybe I have some of that in my blood. It isn't easy, but I jump and grab onto the first branch. I swing myself so I can stand on the branch. I need to make this look good, for the sponsors. I'm lucky; the other branches actually are fairly close. So I'm able to climb up fast to where our rope is. He starts pulling and Rue is slowly, but safely, lifted to where I am. The branch I'm on is big enough to hold Rue and myself. We each get our own sleeping bag and pillow. Peeta takes the branch right above us and has his own sleeping bag. We watch in the sky and see the face of the girl from 4 ad the boy from 8. When the anthem finishes, I lay there, beside Rue, and slowly fall asleep.

Part 21  
I wake up to the sound of birds chirping. Wait, those aren't birds, those are bats. It's still dark out. I'm estimating by where the moon is, I'd say it's about 2 a.m. I haven't slept this much in a couple nights. I put my hand on Rue's pulse, which is starting to beat a little faster now. I grab some mix from my pack and put more on her head. It looks good, no infection or anything. And It's starting to close up. I un-wrap her arm and my heart drops. I guess we didn't pay enough attention to it. It looks like an infection is starting to settle in. I put the rest of the mix on and I know I need more. I climb up to the next branch and see Peeta is awake, fully alert. And I can't blame him. The branch is big enough for me to sit up there with him and still have enough room. "Peeta," I say. "She is worse. We didn't spend enough time looking at her arm and now it's infected. It's my fault. It didn't look bad at first, but I should have paid attention to it. I need to those night glasses." He looks at me in disbelief. "Prim." He said. "You aren't going down there right now. The careers usually do most of their hunting at night. They might get you. I'll go." There is no way I can stay up here in safety while he is down there. "No, it's my fault she is infected. I need to go." I say. He says "We will both go. Come on." Well, I'm going at least. We climb down the tree and go to the spot where we found Rue. There is still blood, but if the careers came by they would know she is alive. Her face wasn't in the sky, just the girl from 4 and the boy from 8. We gather as many leaves as we can and even make a second trip. When we go back for a third time, we hear a scream, a cannon, laughs, and footsteps. Close and coming our way. I have my bow with me and Peeta has a knife but we know we are outnumbered by the 3 careers in skill, and strength. "Prim, get in the bush. Now" Peeta hisses at my. I dive in my bush and he hides himself in his own. Right across from me. The careers stop and stand right between us. I should pull out my bow, but I'm afraid Peeta will get mad. "So who is left?" Asks Clove. Cato answers her. "Well, we just got the boy from 10. So there is us four, Glimmer, the girl from 5, Thresh, apparently Rue, Peeta, and Prim." Four? Who else is with them? "Well, we need to take out Thresh next. He is a big challenge. Once we are done with him, we will move on to 5. Then Rue, and we save Peeta and Prim for last. I hate those two with the whole brother/sister ting they have been pulling off. I want Prim and Peeta to stand, mouths covered and hands tied, right across from each other. We will slowly cut off parts of them and watch them slowly bleed to death after they watch Rue die. That'll give the audience a show." Says a blood thirsty Cato. Then someone else speaks up, and it is the 4th person with them. "You know, we should get back to camp. If we can pick that wheat from the field, I can make us some actually decent bread." Says the boy. Who is that!? "Well, we did finish all the Capitol bread from cornucopia, so let's go." Says Marvel. As they start to walk away, I know who the boy is. District 9, grain! Of course! Who else can make bread out of wheat and whatever else they have at the cornucopia! I'm thinking of pulling out my bow, but I remember how I felt after I killed the girl from 4, and let it drop. As I sit there waiting for the coast to be clear, a knife drives into the back of Marvel.

Part 22

My first thought of who it is, is Peeta. But I look over at him and he to looks as shocked as I am. We meet eyes and have somehow mentally decided to stay put. The careers are in a state of panic as they try locating the owner of the knife. Out of nowhere, Glimmer, the girl from 1, jumps out of the tree and lands right where they had been standing just a few seconds ago. She throws another knife and this one hits Cato, but only cutting his arm. She pulls out the bow and arrow that must have been at the cornucopia. She must have taken it while the careers were distracted. An arrow hits the boy from 9, right in the nose and he falls back. These Games are going very fast. Faster than I'm sure the Game-makers want it to. She jumps and dodges Cato's spear and hides before he can grab his sword. Only she has jumped right in my bush, and is laying on top of me. I'm very afraid right now as she puts her fingers to her lips. We sit like that as Cato and Clove run by us in hunt for her. When they are a safe distance away, Peeta comes over and yanks Glimmer off of me. He knocks the weapons out of her hands and lifts her in the air. She doesn't look scared. She gives a sly grin, "Are you really going to kill me? After I just got rid of 2 more tributes you two didn't have the guts to?" She says very wily. I look at Peeta, but his eyes are locked on hers. "Peeta," I say quietly. "Put her down. She's okay. She can't be bad or she would have been with the careers, and she wasn't." He sets her down but keeps a hand on her shoulder. "Oh yeah!" She runs over to Marvel and district 9. Pulls the knife from Marvel and yanks the arrow from 9. She walks back just as the hovercraft appears and take the bodies away. "Why did you kill Marvel? He's from your district. Why not Cato?" I ask. She looks at me and smiles. "Because, Marvel is the one during training that told me to keep away and if I came near, he would kill me. Well, he walked into our territory." She says. Peeta looks mad, "_Our_, territory? No, you aren't part of our alliance. You can leave now." Glimmer looks at him and smiles. She reaches for a bow and points it right at his heart. "Our, territory. Right Prim?" She asks me, not looking away from Peeta who has gotten his knife out. He looks at me and then back at Glimmer. I see the defeat in his face and I answer Glimmer. "Yes, our territory." She lowers her bow and says, "Well, come on then! Rue needs those leaves." And she picks up some from the ground, and walks toward the tree where we left Rue. "Hey, have you been spying on us?" Peeta asks Glimmer. "Is it really spying in the Hunger Games? At least I didn't kill you. Maybe I should have. So not to give the careers any satisfaction. But with Marvel gone, I think we will be just fine. He is smart you know." She says. I had never really considered Marvel as a big threat with Cato and Thresh still around. Small, a follower never a leader. But if he is as smart as she says he is, then maybe it's a good thing that he is out of the games now.

Part 23  
After we get back with Glimmer and the leaves, Rue is up. After a day and a night of sleep, I'm guessing she will be up for a while now. She is really happy to see that I found them. Apparently she doesn't remember when I first found her and held her hand. She is so thankful that I got the leaves for her and she is hoping that she will be able to help out again soon. "You need to stay rested. Don't move your leg to much and we need to keep more mix on your arm and head." I tell her. Her head looks really good, but her arm is getting worse. Unless we get a parachute or something, she may not make it. In fact, the medicine she would need would be a lot of money, even from the first day of the games. I tell her to stay put, and I go up to the next branch. Peeta and Glimmer are talking and I can't help but over hear them. "Why do you want to be with us so much? Why an alliance at all? You will just end up killing us if we don't die first. We aren't a strong group like the careers. Why us?" Asks Peeta.  
"You don't understand. I can't expect you to either. Prim is only one year younger than my aunt was when she volunteered. She wanted to be the youngest to win from our district. She had blonde hair like Prim. So when I see her, it reminds me of my aunt. I never actually met her, but she had the most beautiful green eyes." She says. When she mentions the greens eyes and blonde hair, something clicks. It seems like I have heard of someone or know of someone who has blonde hair and green eyes. There is something else to and I can't think of it. I continue to listen. "My aunt, she was very skilled. She learned as much as she could before she volunteered. At least, that's what my family tells me. She was in the second Quarter Quell. She picked that year because it was the most challenging. In fact, she probably would have won. She made it to the final two." I realize it now. The blonde curls, green eyes, the way her mouth would form into an evil smile. Glimmer was related to the girl Haymitch fought during the Quarter Quell! The one I never actually got the full battle from. I listen closer. "Well, my aunt was with the other careers of course. They had just killed a girl, I think from your district. Maysilee Undersee was her name I think. She was something of a fighter, since she made it to the final 5. But my aunt killed her. Then went after another boy from your district. Haymitch Abernathy I think. He was the winner. It was just those two left and things got bloody. Haymitch holding his insides in, my aunt had an eye missing. I watched the video of it and it was sick." She gives a small laugh. "Anyway, she threw an ax and I thought for sure that it was over. But it missed him and went down a cliff. They waited, thinking maybe one could out last the other. Which, if that was the case, my aunt would have won. Haymitch had to many vital organs cut open and internal bleeding. That was obvious. But, out of nowhere, the ax came back. Landed itself right in my aunts head and it was over. Haymitch had won. But Prim. She reminds me of her so much. The way she looks, but not the way she acts. I know she killed the girl from 4, I was watching her. She doesn't feel good about it either. I watched her face and the careers were walking away. Like, she knew she needed to kill someone, but she didn't want to." Peeta is silent. He must be thinking the same thing. Haymitch killed her aunt. I want to talk, but Peeta does for me. "Glimmer, you know Haymitch is still... alive? He is still a mentor. He is actually our mentor." He said the wrong things. I can feel the heat from Glimmer as she is shaking furiously trying to control herself. I know she can't, but I don't know what she will do. "Why… Didn't you… Tell me… This before… I teamed… up… with you…" She says slowly. Peeta tries to calm her down. "I didn't know she was your aunt. I didn't know you even knew her. Haymitch told us how he won but he didn't finish. He just got up and left because he was getting upset. I'm sorry, we really didn't know." Peeta says calmly, trying to settle her. I know she is still very mad. "You mean, you have talked and lived and ate with the man that killed my aunt?" She snaps at him. I don't expect the next thing, though I should. Glimmer puts her arms on Peeta's shoulders and shoves him off the branch they are sitting on.

Part 24  
Lately, I have thought of Peeta as a brother. The way he protects me and how sweet he is. So I think that is why I make Glimmer's death my second kill. It's a good thing I had my bow and arrow with me. She didn't know what hit her and she fell over the side of the branch. If the arrow didn't kill her, the fall down would have. She hit so many branches. I climb down as fast as I can, just as the cannon goes off. As long as there isn't a second one, Peeta is still alive. As I run over to where is lying, I know he can't breathe. The wind has been knocked out of him. Just a few minutes and he will be breathing normal again. He is lucky. He was smart enough to protect his head on the way or he probably would have broken his neck. But his hand hit many branches and seems to have a very bad sprained wrist, or a small fracture. I grab some tape from my bag that I didn't even realize I had on still. I jerk his hand so it is straight again. Luckily, he so winded that he can't scream. But that doesn't stop the moan that escapes his lips. I wait a few minutes, checking over his body. I find only minor cuts and bruises. Suddenly, for the first time since the games have started, I get a parachute. Floats right to me. It's a big one too. I open is and see a cast for a leg, and a cast for an arm. So they must know Peeta's wrist is broken. I'm really lucky I help my mom at home, because I know how to put these on people. I put on Peeta's and leave him on the ground for a minute to put on Rue's. When I get back, I see the claw of the hovercraft taking away Glimmer's body. The careers will be happy about that. I help Peeta up and he seems okay. The fall was about 30 or 35 feet down, but he seems capable of climbing back up. I decide to sleep on his branch with him tonight. I will probably wake up in the middle of the night. If I do, I will move down to Rue's branch with her. I curl up and Peeta whispers to me, "I didn't know she would react like that. I wouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have. I'm sorry you had to kill someone else. I promise I will take care of the rest." I don't blame him. And I do feel really bad about killing her, but this time I had a reason. "It's okay. We shouldn't have let her be part of our alliance anyway. But if we didn't, she would have killed you sooner. Probably me as well. How is your wrist?" I say. He looks at the cast and then back to me. "Well, it does hurt really badly. I will manage through it. I guess it's a good thing you moved it when I was winded or my scream would have drawn any nearby tributes." He tells me. I look at him and say, "Well, it's a good thing Haymitch sent the casts. Rue got one too. I figured you would scream if you had the breath to, but you did get out a moan." I tell him. "I did? Huh. I don't remember." He gives a small laugh. "Go ahead and go to sleep Prim." He tells me and I curl up again in my sleeping bag. He plays around with my hair. The touch is smooth and gentle and reminds me of Katniss. My mother didn't do things like this, but Katniss did. As I fell asleep, I imagine myself in my bed at home, after a nightmare. Katniss is trying to get me asleep again. But I do fall asleep, feeling happy. The thought of home makes me calm down a lot.  
I wake up to find a very sore Peeta. He is still asleep, but I can tell the fall really screwed him up. He is actually kind of fun to watch sleep. He moves around, he smiles, he scowls. But then he does something I don't expect. As he is sleeping, looking peaceful again, he whispers something. _Katniss._ I think maybe I heard him wrong, but he says it again. _Katniss._ I hope she is watching this. I say this next sentence very softly, so if she is watching, all of Panem and herself will hear. "Katniss, if you are watching this, Peeta just said your name. While he sleeps. He really does love you." I look up and see a camera hidden in the tree and the lens focused on me. "If I don't make it back and he does, give him a chance. He is… amazing. You would like him." I hope she heard that.

Part 25

The history books at school say that district 12 and the arenas are about a three hour time difference. I never understood what that meant, and I don't really care. If in district 12 it really is 3 hours ahead of us here, well then she should already be awake. It's probably 4 a.m. here according to the moon, so it's 7 a.m. there. Right now, Katniss and I would both be awake and already ready for school. I would be getting ready to milk Lady and Katniss would have been setting out our breakfast. I'm sure that with me in the Games though, she is watching. Forgetting about the regular chores and watching me on the old projector that only plays when it wants to. At school, Katniss may be excused at any time to watch the games, so I'm sure she is taking advantage of that. I watch Peeta for another minute, he whispers Katniss in his sleep 2 more times before I go down to Rue's branch. She is awake and I slide over to her leg. The cast is doing its job, and her head and arm look better. I add more green mix to her arm though. Afraid she might get another infection, and apply a coat to her head as well. "Have you slept Rue?" I ask her. She gives her head a slight shake indicating she hasn't. "Well, I'm fully awake now. Why don't you rest?" I say, giving her a pillow. She looks me in the eyes and says, "Prim, you have been so nice since you got here. Thank you. And, I hope to use the crutches later. To help pull my weight around her." She tells me. "No, take all the time you need. I want to make sure you are completely okay before you do anything. I do want you to use the crutches and make sure they work, but I want you to get right back up her out of danger." She sits up more and says to me, "Out of danger? Prim, this is the Hunger Games. We are always in danger." She gives a slight laugh, "Do you actually think we are safe here though?" I know we aren't safe here. Not at all. "Well, no. But we have to try to be as safe as possible. With the resources we have, this is the safest we can be." I tell her. She just nods her head. We sit in silence for a few minutes, until she breaks it. "Do you have a district token Prim?" I wonder if she is asking because she may not have one. "Yes, I do. Would you like to see?" I ask. She nods and I give her the night glasses. I pull off my bracelet and give it to her. She looks it over and smiles. "Have you noticed this bird before?" I take my bracelet and I hold a tiny figure in between my fingers. "No, I haven't. Do you know what kind it is?" I ask her. She seemed to have recognized it. "Yes, I do. It's a mockingjay." She tells me. A mockingjay. I have heard of them before. During the war, the Capitol created mutations called Jabberjays. They designed them to listen and record whole human conversations. The Capitol sent them around areas where the rebel's bases were. They would record all the conversations and send them back to the Capitol. Well, the rebels soon figured out what had happened. They would feed the Jabberjays lies and the Capitol were the ones being made fun of then. The sent the birds to die off in the wild, but instead, they mated with mockingbirds. It created a whole new species. The new birds, mockingjay, can sing whole songs, or just a few notes. Katniss said, when she would go in the woods with my father, all the birds would trip over themselves to hear him sing. Eager to repeat it. I ask Rue, "Do you have these birds in your district?" She nods her head. "I'm one of the fruit pickers. I can climb up really high in the trees and pick. I see a lot of mockingjays up there. I actually use them as a tool." She tells me. Confused, I ask "How do you use them as a tool? You pick fruit. How do they help with that?" She smiles and responds, "Well, at the end of the day, I'm usually the highest in the trees. I see the clock on the Justice Building before anyone else. When it is time to go home, I do a four note whistle. The mockingjays carry it through the trees and that's when people know it's time to go home. It goes like this." She says and whistles four notes that sound like they echo off the trees. I realize the mockingjays are awake and singing Rue's whistle back to her. "Wow, that's beautiful." I tell her. She smiles and says, "Thank you. Is it okay if I go to sleep for the last few hours before the sun rises?" She asks me. "Of course. Here, take this pillow." I hand her the only one we have left. "I'm going to go back up to Peeta's branch. See you soon." I tell her and climb up to Peeta, who is asleep still. I grab my sleeping bag and curl up. Before I drift off, I hear him whisper Katniss one more time.

Part 26

I'm the last to wake up, but I feel refreshed. I can feel the sunshine on me and the birds are chirping. I haven't felt this rested since I was in the bush. Slowly, I stretch and climb down my tree. The ground is still wet with dew. It feels like a spring morning. Rue is already up and is using her crutches. I walk to her. "Hey, are they a good size?" I ask her. She nods, "Yes. How did you know what size to make them?" She asks me. "Well, we are the same height. I just made the crutches so they could fit me." I tell her. She smiles and says, "Thanks. They are great. I didn't know anyone could make crutches out of wood. And if they could, I didn't know they worked so well." She tells me. This time I smile, "Well, my mother is a healer at home. I help her a lot and I picked that up. Hey, can I sing your 4 note whistle? I want to hear the mockingjays again." I ask her. "Sure, go ahead." She tells me and that's what I do. The notes are simple G, B, A, D. I sing it and everything is quiet. Then, song bursts out! Beautiful notes are sung by the mockingjays. The notes harmonize so perfectly and everything is so peaceful. "That is amazing." I tell her. I sing it one more time and Rue echoes me. It creates a commotion with the birds, deciding which one to listen to. About half listen to Rue and half listen to me. Rue's notes are a little higher, and the mockingjays sound beautiful. We haven't had music on our house for a long time. It's been, since my father died I have heard anything so beautiful. "Hey, where is Peeta?" I ask Rue when the mockingjays start to stop singing. "I think he went to the pond to get some fish. Do you want to go find him?" She asks me. Yes, I do. I nod and we start walking. The crutches really do work well. I'm glad. As we walk along, I have to wonder what the smell hitting my nose is. It smells like someone is cooking food. Why would Peeta start a fire to cook the fish now? The careers are probably just on their back to camp and may see him. We go a little further and I hear a voice. I hear the boy first and I thought maybe it was Peeta. Then I heard the girl and I stop in my tracks. Rue hasn't heard her yet so I have to tackle her, causing a commotion. I know we are too loud and the careers have heard us. They slowly stand up and start walking toward us. I put my hand over her mouth and was very quiet. I held my breath waiting for them to pass. Instead, of course, they stop right by our bush. Very quietly, I lift my head as they are picking up one of Rue's crutches. "Hey Cato, were there any crutches at the cornucopia?" Clove asks. Cato walks over to her and grabs the crutch. Even if there were, someone made these. The cornucopia would have had fancy ones, not ones made from a tree. Someone is close, let's look around." They first start in the other direction, but Rue's foot slips and they freeze. They slowly turn around and head toward our bush. I have my bow and the arrows I stole from Glimmer. As they are about to open my bush, I shoot Clove right through the heart. I feel bad of course, but there is nothing I can do. Cato throws a spear and it just misses me. I shoot at him, but I only catch his leg. He takes off limping. I'm not chasing after him; I don't want to kill him. I do however, shoot another bow at him so it slices his other leg and he will be laid up for a while. I hear Clove's cannon go off. I turn to Rue, "Man, that was a close one. I'll go get your crutch." I tell her. As I'm exiting the bush, she grabs my hand. I turn around and see the spear Cato threw at me, sticking out of her stomach. "No, no this isn't happening. NO!" I try to be quiet, but no one will hear me. Except maybe Peeta, and I need him. I kneel down beside her and I assess the wound. It went all the way through her stomach and out her back. There is no way I can save her. Even if I could, she would be paralyzed for sure. I start crying, but her shaky voice stops me, "Prim, its ok. Don't cry please. Please Prim, don't cry." I hold back my tears. If her dying wish is to not see me cry, then I will give it to her. Slowly, as I did when she first got injured, I move her head. I let it rest on my lap. She says to me very quietly, "Music. Singing. That is what I loved most. Can you, sing to me until I…" I won't let her finish that sentence. I don't know what song to sing to her. One of my father's songs maybe, if I could remember one. The Hanging Tree stands out, but that's not something to sing to someone who is dying. Then, my sister pops up in my head. She sings this song to me whenever I'm scared or upset about something. "Deep in the meadow, under a willow. A bed of grass, a soft green pillow." Her breathing is starting to slow down. "Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when again they open, the sun will rise." She is starting to close her eyes. Her chest is moving slower and slower. "Here it is safe, here it is warm. Here the daisies guard, you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true." She is taking her last breath as I slowly and very softly, whisper the next line, "Here is the place, where I love you." Silence, a few birds, than a cannon. Tears start to spill. I already kept my promise though. I didn't cry until now. My tears fall onto her face and down her cheeks. Her face, once so alive with happiness and hope, are pale. I kiss the top of her head and slowly lay it on the ground. She loved everything beautiful in the world. Everything bright and colorful. I can't let her death be like all the others. I have to do something that pops out. I pick some primroses from a nearby bush, and place them in her hands over the wound. I stand there, looking at her. It's horrible knowing she was alive only 15 minutes ago. We were walking together only 15 minutes ago, and now she is gone. I still have tears running down my face as I look at the bird on my bracelet, and whistle her four note tune. I stand there, putting the 3 middle fingers on my left hand to my lips, and reaching them out to her. Back home, this is something we usually do at funerals. It's our way to say goodbye to someone braves. Someone you love. Someone you respect. All three adjectives fit Rue.

Part 27  
The claw comes and takes Rue away. I can't help but cry, even though sponsors will notice that kind of thing. I hold back as many tears as I can. I grab my backpack, and head toward the lake where Peeta should be fishing. How am I going to tell him Rue just died? That I killed ANOTHER tribute? He promised to take care of the rest, but I don't think he has killed even one. I break through the bushes and find him spearing a fish. He already has another pole filled with at least a dozen. Ironic, it's called The Hunger Games, yet we haven't gone hungry yet. "Peeta." I say in a whisper. He looks up and sees me. "Hey, where is Rue." I try my best, but I start crying again. "Oh no." I hear him say between sobs. He comes over and puts an arm around me and holds me tight. I calm down relatively fast, but I cried a lot before I found him. "It was horrible. We were walking to come find you. I smelled something cooking and thought maybe you were cooking the fish or something. I peeked around the bush and saw Cato with Clove. Rue almost walked in their view, but I tackled her into a bush. They started looking for us and almost went away, then her foot slipped. It hit some leaves or something and they came over. Clove was the one that opened that bush and I shot her in the heart. Cato threw a spear and hit her in the stomach. I sang to her until she died, she asked me to. I covered her with primroses and covered the wound as well. I whistled a four note whistle she taught me and saluted her with three fingers on my left hand. Then the claw got her and she was gone. I did shoot Cato a few times, but it only wounded him." I keep back my tears again, but Peeta has one running down his cheek. He is trying to be strong for me and I know it. "Peeta, can we go back to the tree?" I whisper. "Of course." He says. We stand up, roast a fish for each of us, put out the fire, and eat our fish walking back. We take a detour so we don't have to go back to where Rue died. When we get to the tree, I ask him to hunt. "No, it's too dangerous. We have fish, we can wait on meat." I guess he is right. I don't want to actually do much more killing anyways. I just want to be alone a bit longer. I climb up in the tree and take a nap on Peeta's branch. I sleep way to long though. And when I wake up, it's to the sound of the anthem playing. It should just be Rue and Clove tonight. That's why I'm shocked to see the girl from 5. Peeta is beside me as the night turns black again. I look at him and he reads my mind "She came to close. She wasn't going to attack, but I knew I needed to get her out as soon as possible. I think they Games are going to fast though. The game makers will probably let us have tomorrow off, give everyone some time to bet." He tells me. Even though I'm late, I just realize it. "Peeta, I can't believe we made it to the final 8! No tribute from 12 has done that in a long time, and now there are two of us!" I exclaim to him. His eyes spark with happiness, than die out. "What's wrong?" I ask him. He looks like he wants to cry, but doesn't. "I just wish we could both go home." He whispers to me. Darn. I knew this was coming. I wish I wasn't in this situation. He is going to have to die, but I can't kill him. If it comes down to just us, then I am really stuck. I could never pull an arrow on him. I know my expression is depressed, but I try to make it grateful. "Thank you, for choosing me." I say. "Have you slept yet?" She shakes his head no. "Well, I slept a lot longer than I thought I thought I would, so I can keep watch. Go to sleep." He smiles and grabs a pillow. He turns over and within a minute is snoring. No one will come tonight, this much I know. It's probably about 11:30 p.m. right now, and I'm to awake. I have to do something. I grab my bow and arrows, and climb down the tree.

Part 28  
I'm not sure where I am going, but I want to be active. I don't plan on killing anyone. If someone shows up I will hide and just pray they don't find me. If they do, I will be forced to shoot whoever it is. I don't want to, but I'm going to have to. I hate this place so much. I just want to go home. Home. Katniss and my mother and Gale and my pets and my friends. But one person will be missing. Peeta. If I do get home, he will be the reason why. He is the one that has gotten us sponsors I'm sure, and that's how he has his cast. If I go home without him, I will be very depressed. Especially because I have come to know him so well. "Peeta, I wish you could come home with me" I whisper to myself, and tears start rolling down my face. I wish no one else would die. I wish no one had to die in the first place. I wish we could live in a place that we have heard about in school. No hunger games, no President Snow, no starving. There is more, but those three make everything seem better. I keep walking in no particular place. The night air feels good against my hot skin. I have never seen a more peaceful night since Peeta showed me the roof. How long have we actually been in the Games? I think it has been 5 days, and only 4 tributes are left. Cato, Thresh, Peeta, and myself. The Games are going by very fast. I doubt the Game makers want anything more to happen these next few days. A chance to give people some time to bet, let the tributes heal- Physically and emotionally- and have a grand finale. They could and will do anything to draw us together and fight until the end. It's only a matter of time. I'm giving it 2 days. I keep walking and when I start to feel tired or bored, I turn to go back to the tree. When I get there, I climb up to Peeta's branch and find him awake and a little angry. "Where were you? I have been worried! For over an hour I have waited and I was about to come look for you!" He says to me. I can understand why he is mad, and I stay soft. "I'm sorry Peeta. I was really awake and I wanted to take a walk. I had my weapons and Cato is hurt. So I doubt I would have run into him. I just needed… Some alone time." I tell him and he softens up. "Okay, I'm sorry. I was just worried about you is all." I can see why that would make him worry. I did the same thing when Katniss would go hunt. "Peeta, do you know you talk in your sleep?" I know this is way off our subject, but it makes him smile a little. "I do? Really? What do I talk about?" He asks me. I smile really big and say, "Well, at least since we have been in the arena I have heard you whisper Katniss like 6 times." His smile drops a little and he says "Oh." He looks kind of embarrassed. "Is something wrong with that?" I ask him. "Well, It's just a little. I just…" He trails off. "I think it's sweet. You two would be cute together." I tell him with a smile that seems to light up his face. "Really?" He asks me. "Really." I tell him. Now he is smiling and seems to be in a better mood. "Well, why don't we both get some sleep Prim, I will try to be quiet tonight." He tells me. I laugh, "Don't be! It's cute." We lie down on the branch and fall asleep.

Part 29  
Like I predicted, the game makers leave us alone for 3 days. I usually sleep most of the day and Peeta sleeps at night. I slip away each night after he is snoring, and after I have heard him whisper Katniss at least once. When he starts talking, he is out. I walk around the woods each night with a loaded arrow. I hope I don't run into anyone because I don't want to kill anyone. I never do though. On the third night, just before I'm about to slip away, a voice over what sounds like a loud speaker brings Peeta fully awake. He sits up and looks at the sky. It was Claudius Templesmith. He was congratulating us on making it to the final 4. He said our families and friends back home have been interviewed and he had a surprise for us. "Tomorrow at noon, there will be a feast at the cornucopia. Now, what I'm saying now isn't being aired, but they want to end the games soon. Everyone is required to go and if you don't, well, an accident has been arranged for you. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor." I look at Peeta and he looks at me. "Well, we are in a pickle aren't we? Don't worry Prim, I know how to fight. I wish I didn't, but I do. I will go out and you stay close behind. Hopefully we all are able to kill each other again so you don't have to." He tells me. No, I don't want this to happen. NO! "Peeta? What do you mean, again?" I ask him, trying to get the fact that he will probably be dead tomorrow. "I never actually told you what happened the first day at the bloodbath. But first, how many people have you killed?" He asks me. What kind of question is that? It's not even relevant. "Um, I think four." I tell him, "Why?" He kind of laughs and sighs. "I wish I only killed four. At the bloodbath, it was bad. The original plan was to just run, but we needed supplies. I went in and so did Rue. I didn't want her to, but she was just following me. Anyway, when the gong sounded, it was nothing but bodies and blood in that area. I don't know who exactly, but I killed I think 6 people, and Rue killed 1 by mistake. She had a weapon and he was running for her. I think the boy from 7. She tripped with the knife in her hand and it went into him. I pulled her away from his lifeless body. I put that one kill on me. So I think I killed 7 people. I became a competitor and I didn't mean to. That's why I didn't kill the careers when they were in between our bushes. We could have killed them all, but that would be another 4 people on our hands." I look at him flabbergasted. I never took Peeta as a fighter, even if others were attacking him first. I guess that's how I am too. No one at home thought I would kill I'm sure, so when I took down the girl from 4 I'm sure everyone was surprised. Peeta is one of those people who want to talk instead of fight, and I am too. But we have both become competitors in these games. "I just didn't want them to change me. But they have." I hear him say. I look into his eyes and I can already see the tears building up. It was then I made my decision. I know he wants me to get home and make Katniss happy, but I couldn't let him. When he fell asleep tonight and I took my walk, I was going for the cornucopia. He couldn't stop me, and I would be giving him a fair chance at winning.

Part 30  
"Peeta, we both need to get some sleep. I'm a little more rested, so let me take the first watch." I say. He nods and turns on his side. He probably doesn't know I can hear him, but he is crying. As silently as he possibly can. I sit there while and wait, and he falls asleep. When he does, I dig through his bag and pull out a knife. If anyone is watching me right now, they will probably think that I'm going to kill him and fight for myself at the cornucopia tomorrow. But I don't do that. Instead, I take the knife and drive a P into the tree. I sure hope he sees this. I carve out my message to him. "Peeta, I want you to have a fighting chance tomorrow instead of walking straight into your death. I wish you the best of luck and if you make it back, tell Katniss I love her. ~Prim." I look at my message and nod my head. When I hear him say Katniss, I know he is out and I can leave. I grab my backpack and make sure I have enough for my meal in it. I start for the trunk until I notice Peeta isn't tucked in. I grab the sleeping bag and pull it up to his chin. I can still see the tears that are on his face. I add a few off my own as the drop to his cheek. I turn away from him and look up at the moon. No one will be here tomorrow night. One way or another, dead or alive, we will be out of this horrible place. I go to the side of the tree and I look over at Peeta one more time. All is silent and I can hear him say _Katniss_. I leave the branch and find myself on the ground in tears. I must hold as many back as I can.  
I walk through the woods. I haven't really been far on my nightly walks and I haven't left the tree during the day. I don't know where I'm going. If I was awake the first day I would know but I don't. I see the spot where Rue's blood is still on the leaves. I cringed at the memory of finding her. I have a feeling I will shed many tears tonight. I walk back the direction I came from the second day of the games. Back to the bush where the game makers put me in. I look at it and memories fill. Eating animals, making the arrows, killing the girl from 4. I turn the direction the careers did and I hope to make it. On my way, I pull out some strawberries and eat them as I go along. I drink some water and a few beef strips. This is the fullest I have been since the Games started. I left Peeta with plenty to eat, so he should be okay, I hope. I finally get to the edge of the woods. I can see the cornucopia and I can see the sky turning grey. Wow, that was a long walk. No one seems to be in sight, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. I'm the only girl left. I'm the youngest and weakest one too. I know how to use a bow and arrow, but that doesn't mean I like to. I sit down by a tree, leaning against it. Even though I slept for 10 hours, I'm really tires. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to sleep for a while so I have some fighting power, if it even comes to that. I lean back further until I'm somewhat comfortable and close my eyes. It is peaceful tonight. Night animals and sounds and even smells. It seems a little too perfect, but that okay. I like it. I'm almost asleep, when a giant hand covers my mouth and yanks me from my spot.

Part 31  
I scream, even though I know it is useless. I kick, even though I know it won't matter. I reach for my bow, even though I know I won't reach it. Whoever has grabbed me has a tight hold on me. I look down at the hand and I know it is Cato. Who else would it be? Thresh and Peeta didn't beat him in training, or had a better interview, or blew away the crowed at the opening ceremonies. He must have seen me coming or followed me until he caught me off guard. He releases his hand over my mouth, but puts both of mine behind my back. I scream as loud as I can and he punches me in the face. He stuffs a rag in my mouth and tells me to shut up or he will pull out a knife. He ties my hands and picks me up. I look at him and he smiles evilly, "So you're the little brat that killed Clove. And Lola from District 4. Both of those kills were interesting. A homemade arrow, hiding in the bush. You know, you got me too. That wasn't very nice considering I will be deciding how you die. How long and painful it will be." He laughs a low laugh. He sets me down and lifts his shirt. "You see this? That's what your arrow did to me." He says. He has a deep cut and it runs along his entire side. "It hurt when you first hit it, plus my wound from Glimmer. It took a while to heal enough to walk again. Those past three days have helped me recover and now I'm ready to win. Though I have some very, interesting ideas on how to kill you and Peeta. The Capitol will love it." I spit the rag out and he looks mad. All I say is, "I heard you, in the bush. About Glimmer. Yes, I shot her in the head and knocked her out of a tree. But why were you so mad at her?" I ask him. If I stall, maybe Peeta will come looking for me. He must know what I'm trying to do, but he answers anyway, "Well, That little, I'm not even going to say it. Anyway, She told us during training that she didn't want to be part of our alliance. She said she could do better off. If you were a career, you would understand why this would piss us off. So when we got into the arena that first day, she decided to join us. Only that night, she took most of our supplies and weapons and went for the woods. We all agreed we needed to find her. When she jumped out of the tree and hit me, my blood boiled. Marvel was mad about her coming back that first night. I don't know why it bugged him so much, but it did. So we have been trying to find and kill her since the first day." He looks at me and I think by asking it only made him madder. "Cato, that's not what she told us. She said Marvel told her to stay away or he would kill her." I tell him. He looks shocked and says, "It doesn't matter now anyway. All I need to do it kill Thresh, and Peeta will be taken care of. And you are going to help me with that." He says with an evil grin. "By the way, I have noticed you haven't been injured yet Prim." He says still smiling. He pulls out my bow and arrows and aims it on the side of my shirt, "Wait!" I try to get out, but it's too late. He pulls back the bowstring and the arrow hits me in the side, just like his. He walks over and pulls out a knife. He cuts hard and deep into my arm, just like him. The pain is horrible and I have to feel everything he did. He sticks the rag back in my mouth while I scream. He smiles, looking into my eyes. Wait, he isn't looking in my eyes. He is looking at the stitches above my eyebrows. He walks over and rips them out one by one, opening the cut again. I'm screaming in the rag, but that doesn't seem to matter. I'm still very loud. He looks mad as he says "If you don't shut up, I will kill you right now!" It takes everything I have to hold the scream, but I bite down on the rag very hard.

Part 32  
When he is done hurting me, he moves on to the next part of his plan, bait. He kept me tied up and took me to the cornucopia. I waited as he ate his breakfast. He ate everything I had in my backpack, plus the stuff he had. I'm starving, but I don't dare even look at the food. Suddenly, he speaks up, "You know, I have wanted to kill you since you got that training score. Even thought of doing it before the games, but that would have been a bad choice. So, I made it a goal to get you first, but that didn't happen. I didn't even see you here the first day. What pedestal were you on?" He asks me. So he doesn't know what happened that morning. "I was never given one. I didn't exactly, fight. I had an accident that morning and I got knocked out. So they hid me in a bush. They gave me some supplies and that where I stayed until the second day. That's where I shot the girl from 4." I tell him. He looks like he is remembering that day. He smiles and says "Oh yeah, I wonder how we missed you." Then he reaches for more rope. He ties my feet together and raps some cloth around my mouth. This is where we get Peeta. He says with an evil grin. He picks me up and I look at the sun. High in the sky, I can tell it is noon. He sets me in the opening of the cornucopia and goes back. I turn and see him standing there holding a sword. "Turn around!" He hisses at me, and I do. I look ahead and I wait. Claudius Templesmith's voice booms over the speakers. "This also is not being aired. All the tributes are along the woods of the cornucopia, or by the cornucopia themselves. It's time. Let the real games begin." And his voice cuts off. So Peeta is here, probably looking at me right now. Probably cursing under his breath, mad that I left. I sit and wait. After about 5 minutes, Thresh is the first to show himself. I don't think Cato can see him because he is running for me. If Cato saw him, he would have stopped him from messing with his bait. Thresh is running toward me and I think he will go in for the death blow. Attracting Peeta to run for me, Cato to kill Thresh and Peeta and win. It's all over. But instead, he scoops me up and runs off with me. I look at him trying to scream, but nothing is coming out. He doesn't even glance at me as he runs back from where he came from. He gets there and sets me down, untying me. He pulls the rag from my mouth and another pair of hands grabs me from behind.

Part 33  
At first, I think Cato has followed us back and is trying to take me back as bait, but I find an even bigger surprise waiting for me. Peeta. I start crying tears of joy as he hugs me. "Prim, I was so worried! Don't ever try a blessed thing like that again or I swear!" He his hugging me too tight for me to believe he is actually mad right now. I let him go and he can see I'm crying. "Did he hurt you Prim?" He asks me. I look at him and nod. "He said how he noticed I hadn't been hurt yet, and he shot me. With my own bow and arrow right in the side like I had done to him. Then he cut my arm and picked out my stitches. He said he would kill me if I screamed. It still hurts Peeta." I tell him. His eyes show hate and revenge, "I'm going to make it go away. I promise." He looks away from me, toward the cornucopia, knife in hand, than looks at Thresh. "Thank you Thresh." He says. Thresh looks at me and says "Well, she helped Rue. I needed to pay her back my debt." He says. Peeta stands up and walks to him. Peeta holds out his hand. Thresh is unsure, then takes it and shakes. It's so unexpected. Peeta takes the knife in his other hand and stabs Thresh right through the heart. He continues to stab until his cannon goes off. I turn away, crying. He just saved my life and Peeta killed him. He sees my crying and says, "Prim, it had to happen. Better now when he was caught off guard. I'm sorry." I keep crying not wanting to look at him. I do end up though and he hugs me. When he let's go, I feel his hand on my shoulder, until I realize his arms are at his side. Not again!

Part 34  
Cato must have snuck up and has been waiting for his chance, and there it was. How many times is someone going to grab me from behind before I get used to it? He puts me in some kind of headlock this time and holds me there until Peeta runs through the bushes, holding a spear and his knife. "Well, look what we have here." Says Cato. This is dumb. Peeta has such an easy way to get me free, but he won't do it. He won't throw the spear at Cato. I don't understand. "Peeta, how interesting. You are in a pickle aren't you? I can kill Prim, you can kill me and you go home as victor. Or, you kill me and Prim is left to kill you. It's a lose, lose all the way around for you." This makes sense now. Peeta would never want me to kill him. His face shows defeat but he won't accept it. "Peeta help!" I call out as I feel Cato's arm tighten around my neck. I think he is going to break my neck or something, but I know he is cutting my breathing. "Peeta!" I choke out. He looks at Cato and says again, "Cato, let her go." But I know Cato won't and I know Peeta knows it too. If he really wants me to go home, I'm going to have to kill him. Peeta must feel pretty sure of himself because he throws the knife right at Cato's arm, in front of my face. His hold on me releases right away. I turn around to see him holding his arm. I kick him in the stomach to make sure he stays down long enough. Peeta comes over, and stabs Cato right through the heart with Cato's sword. He lies on the ground dying, and I have to turn away. I take a few steps away from his body until the cannon sounds and the hovercraft takes him away. Even though he hurt me, and cut me, and almost killed me, I wish he didn't have to die. I sit on the ground, waiting as Peeta walks over. I look up to see the knife in his hand, but the handle is extended toward me. "Here, kill me and prepare for the hovercraft." He says. I look at him in disbelief and say, "Peeta, you know I can't. I can't kill you after all we have been through." He shakes his head and sits down beside me. "Prim, I want you to go home. Be happy with Katniss and make her happy too. Please Prim." But I won't do it. Not now, not in a million years. We sit there for the longest time, waiting. When the silence is broken, it's by me, "Peeta, we just killed a lot of people, kept people alive, kept each other fed and well rested. You did all that for me, and now you want me to kill you? No, I won't do it. If you die, I want to die too." Again, he shakes his head. There is no way I'm letting that happen. Prim, I will tie you to that tree and kill myself, if that's easier." I can't do this. I won't let him die. If he does, I do too. "Stay here." I run back to the cornucopia and grab my bow and arrows, I spear for Peeta, and I knife for each of us. I run back, about to explain my plan, when I see them. I run to the bush where they are growing. I take one and smash it between my fingers, and I see the seeds. Nightlock.

Part 35  
I grab a handful and go back to Peeta. I look into his bright blue eyes and say, "If you die, I will go into a depression. One I will never come out of. I will just sit at home all day, dead to the world. Like my mother when my father died. Only I won't come out of it. Please, eat these with me." He takes a berry and looks at it, and smashes it. He sees the seeds and all but faints. "No, NO! I can't do that to Katniss. I can't let you die, for me and for her. NO Prim!" He doesn't see my plan, and I can't explain it. I can give him hints though, and I do, "Peeta, they can have two victors, or no Victors. Which do you think they will choose?" I say it soft enough so even the cameras won't be able to hear it, I hope. He looks at me and nods. I'm not sure how, but something happens and we both mentally decide what to do. All we have to do is look at the berries, and that's enough to send a voice booming in the speakers. "Wait! STOP! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the winners of the 74 annual Hunger Games." It's actually the head Game maker, Seneca Crane. He doesn't sound happy about announcing us both as winners. Peeta takes the berries from my hand and throws them across the field. He takes my hands and wipes them on the ground with his. "We got lucky." He says to me as the hovercraft appears to take us away. He picks me up and throws me over his shoulders like he did for the opening ceremonies. They played through the speakers the cheers from around Panem. I felt like I could almost hear District 12. The cries and chants and cheers. It was like I could hear my mother and Gale… and Katniss. I look at Peeta and smile before hugging his head. He smiles to, and I think it's because we are going home. But it's probably because he will actually get to meat Katniss officially. We stand there frozen as the hovercrafts current lifts us into the ship. We take off immediately and are grabbed by doctors. We sit side by side in some chairs while they look over out wounds. The inspect Peeta's wrist and put on a smaller cast than the one that was sent to us. Other than that he is fine. The doctors look at me and it's a whole different story. They say the cut from the arrow hit one of my ribs and that they couldn't perform surgery on it. It would just have to let it heal by itself. The cut in my arm is down to the bone, but it takes them no time at all to patch that up. They stitch above my eyebrow again and Cato's hit to my face gave me a minor concussion. 10 x worse than Peeta. When they doctors are through with us, I feel the hovercraft start to slow down. I can feel us landing. We are on the roof of the Tribute Apartment building when I look up. I can just see the tip of her pink hair.

Part 36  
I jump out of my chair and into her arms. I don't know why I go to her first but I do. Effie wraps her arms around me and says, "I knew I would see you again." Peeta comes over and she hugs both of us. Haymitch is behind her and I'm trying to get out of their embrace to get to him, but he comes over and hugs us all. There are about 10 cameras that take pictures of our reunion. This picture will be on every newspaper, TV, and magazine in all of Panem. It will be there perfect picture too. When the cameras are done we walk of the roof into the apartments. Even though we just got out of the Games, the interview with Ceaser Flickerman is tonight. It's about 2 p.m. right now and we don't go until 8 p.m. Six hours for Cinna to make my outfit and to eat and shower and get rested. When we get to the dining room, I see that we will have plenty to eat. There is a buffet of different chicken, beefs, fish, soup, cookies, cakes, and a lot more. We start our way around the table and Effie says, "Now, be careful how much you eat. They don't want to see it on stage again tonight, so not too much. Tomorrow, before we go home and on the train you can eat as much as you want." Peeta and I were well fed during the games, so we are able to eat a little more. But with this rich food, I'm still very careful. I'm going back to the table to get what is called a smoothie, when I see Haymitch talking into Peeta's ear. I want to go over and ask what it's about, but Effie starts talking to me. She goes on about stupid Capitol stuff and I just nod my head and smile. When she finally is done and I'm about to go to Peeta, Cinna walks in. "Hello beautiful. How are you?" He asks me. "Well, I just won the Hunger Games. I'm alive and going home to Katniss tomorrow. So I'm pretty good." I say with a smile. "That's wonderful. So, would you like to see your dress?" I say, but I tell him I would love to. Whatever Haymitch and Peeta were talking about will have to wait. Cinna walks me down to my room and he tells me to close my eyes. I do and I walk through the door. Then he says, "Prim, what's your favorite color?" I'm a little confused but I tell him, "Pink. Bright hot pink." Usually I don't like things that stand out, but hot pink is an exception. "Okay, open your eyes." He says and I do. In front of me is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. It's hot pink too. Like he already knew. It will go down to about my knees and is a spaghetti strap. It has a black belt around the waist and a design of flowers going up the side. I love it. "Cinna, this is amazing! How did you know I liked hot pink?" I ask him. "I didn't, here." He hands me a small remote with different colored buttons on them. When you click one, it changes the color of the dress. I hit the green one and the design changes too. "This is my sister's favorite color." I smile. "Well Prim, I kind of lied." He says. "About what?" I ask confused. "This isn't what you will wear to the interview, this is your homecoming dress. This, is your interview dress." He pulls a bag off my bed and opens it. It's a muted orange color, like the sunset. It is flat on the top and puffy on the bottom. "Wow, what made you think of that color?" I ask him. "Well, Peeta told me before the Games that sunset orange was his favorite color. I thought maybe this would go well with what he is wearing." He says. "What is Peeta wearing?" I ask him. He smiles and says, "You'll find out."

Part 37

When it is time to go, I finally see what Peeta is wearing. A black tuxedo with what looks like orange flames going up his sleeves and pant legs. It looks like he even has a little orange in his hair too. He looks great. "Hey Prim, can I talk to you for a second?" He asks me. Effie chimes in and says, "Remember, we are on a very tight schedule! Not too long you two!" Peeta and I walk away from the elevator where they are waiting. "What's wrong?" I ask him. He says, "The Capitol is pretty mad about us both winning. It seemed a little rebellious to them. I think really, they are more worried how the districts will react. But, since we both had one person who we ever so wanted to get home to, they are making that the main focus to distract the districts. Talk about Katniss as much as you can tonight, I will too." This is a lot for me to take in and I think I may faint. Apparently I slip because he catches me. "Prim? It will be easy for you. Think of it that way. I have to talk about how much and how long I have loved her. You just have to talk about her being your sister and everything she is to you." I nod, and we walk for the elevators. When we get down there, we have to wait for Effie and Haymitch and or prep teams to do their interviews. Then the stylists go. This takes twice as long because there are two victors. I guess the only good thing about talking about Katniss while the Capitol is steaming mad is I will finally get everything I haven't heard out of Peeta. A servant comes and leads us to the edge of the stage. We enter at the same time because our interviews will be done at the same time. There have been two chair set up this year, and I take the one closer to Ceaser. When the audience stops cheering, Ceaser hits the questions. Mainly the questions are about Katniss and directed to Peeta. I'm glad.  
"So Peeta, you have a crush on Prim's sister. Can you tell us about that?" "Well, I have never actually met Katniss. I have seen her at school and around town." Says Peeta "I see. And when did you first see Katniss?" asks Ceaser.  
"Well, we were 5 years old. I remember the day perfectly. It was our first day of school. Usually her hair is in one braid, but this day it was in two. We got to music class and the teacher wanted someone to sing the valley song. Katniss raised her hand and the teacher set her on a stool. When she sang, I swear, every bird outside stopped to listen. She has the most beautiful voice. I knew, I was a goner." Says Peeta. Wow, that is the sweetest thing I have ever heard. I want to say something now too. "It's true. Katniss has a beautiful voice. She used to sing all the time when my father was alive, but has since stopped. If I'm sick or upset, she sings me a lullaby. It's the one I sang for Rue in the arena." I blurt out. People look like they are in tears and Ceaser asks me, "Prim? Would you like to sing for us?" Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. I need to make this look good, so I stand up and someone brings me a microphone. "Deep in the meadow. Under the willow. A bed of grass. A soft green pillow. Lay down your head, and close your eyes. And when again they open, the sun will rise. Here it is safe, here it is warm. Here the daisies guard, you from every harm. Here your dreams are sweet, and tomorrow brings them true. Here is the place, where I love you." My voice apparently isn't too bad because everyone in the crowd starts cheering. Ceaser takes the microphone and I sit down. "Prim that was beautiful. Does Katniss sing that well? It seems pretty hard to beat." He asks me  
"Oh, she is better. Much better. She has everything from my father, and my father had a beautiful voice too." I tell him. Ceaser smiles.  
"I have one more question, than you two may leave. Prim, what do you think about Peeta being in love with Katniss?" He asks me.  
"Well, I haven't given it much thought. What with the Games and all. But I think it's very sweet. I bet Katniss would like him too. If she knew him better." I saw with a smile. Hopefully, I helped with this interview.

Part 38  
We go off the stage together and Ceaser end the show. We walk back to see Effie and Haymitch and everyone else waiting for us. We go back up to the apartment and we all get a drink. I think I get another smoothie and it's as good as the first. Effie says, "That's wild berry. I can make sure they give you a supply when you get home." Home. I will be there tomorrow night. I am so excited to see Katniss. Peeta comes over and says, "Good job tonight." I respond, "You too." I wonder why he loves Katniss so much. Other than her voice, I don't understand how someone who has enough can love someone who has such little. "Peeta, how can a baker's son love someone from the Seam as much as you do? We have nothing in the Seam, you have enough. I just don't understand." He looks at me, realizing I'm not kidding and answering "Her dedication. To keep your family alive and to keep Gale's alive. How she risks herself all the time to make sure you have a hot meal. And, if she's not the most beautiful person in the whole world, I don't know who is. That is why I love her. Money doesn't matter to me, and I could care less what my parents think. I love her for her." I stare at him, realizing the depths of his love for my sister. Other than my parents, no one has ever loved Katniss like this. "When we get back, I want to introduce her to you." He just smiles. "Alright you two, time for bed. But first, you have a decision. Do you want to leave early and eat on the train, or eat here and leave about 12. It's about a 6 hour train ride. We could leave at six if we go on the train." Effie says to us. We both say at the same time, "Leave early!" She smiles and sends us to bed. I don't go to bed though. I go into the bathroom and turn on the hot tub. I turn on the bubbles and lay in there. It feels nice and relaxing. I love the hot tub. Maybe I will have one at my new house in Victors' Village. Katniss and I could stay in there for hours at night just talking. I turn off the bubbles and look at my body. This bathing suit barely fits, and I can count my ribs. I have lost quite some weight in the arena. I will put it back on though. I will be making daily trips to the bakery to get treats that I never could when I was poor. I would buy these luxuries for other people too, but I would probably buy cakes a lot. I love the frosting designs Peeta makes when he decorates. Flowers are my favorite ones. I get out of the hot tub then and take a long cool shower. I use the primrose scent again and I think I'm starting to smell like it. I love the flowery scent. Maybe Effie can get this scent installed in my new house. I get out of the shower and into a silk night gown. I leave my hair wet and fall peacefully asleep while I think of home.

Part 39  
I was hoping my dreams would be peaceful, but they weren't. Cato haunted me with his sword. I ran for my life as he was swinging the sword behind me. He kept yelling, "One more kill!" Then I tripped over something. It was Peeta lying on the ground dead. I went back to his body and screamed for him to wake up. I looked away from him and saw Cato bringing his sword around for another swing at me. As it made contact to my head, I started screaming. Peeta ran in and woke me up. "Prim. Sh... It was just a dream!" Katniss would do the same thing when she would calm me down. She did the same thing the morning of the Reaping. "You… were dead and… Cato was chasing… me and killed me!" I get out between sobs. He hugs me and says, "Sh… It's okay. Prim, do you know what time it is?" I look at him and shake my head. Its 5 a.m. Time to shower and get ready to leave." This does make me feel better. I get up and he leaves to his room. I take my shower and I get dressed. Just as I am putting on my shirt, my prep team and Cinna walk in. "Hey Prim, I forgot to tell you. We are in charge of your clothing and everything for your departure." I get undressed again and Cinna goes into the restroom. My prep team goes to work on make-up and hair and waxing. They don't do my eyebrows though. For one they don't need it and secondly, I think they are afraid. When they are done, Cinna comes in with my dress, shoes, and a ribbon for my hair. He gives me the remote. The ribbon changes color too. I look like a little school girl. I change the color to pink and walk to the living room. A servant gives me some orange juice and I drink it down. Effie and Haymitch come in next and Peeta trails behind them. He is in simple clothes. "Time to go!" Effie sequels. I turn to Cinna. "Are you coming to the station with us?" I ask him. He shakes his head. "No, I'm sorry. But I will be in your district in a few months for the Victory Tour." I know he is trying to make me feel better, but I want to cry. I throw my arms around him and say, "Thank you for all you did." Them Effie basically rips me away from him and into the elevator. I wave to him as the doors are shutting.

Part 40  
When we finally got on the train, it started moving at once. The crowds of people were huge as they all wanted to wish us fair well. We barely made our way through the crowd. We went to the window to wave goodbye so they would have some pictures of us doing that. When we were pulling out of the station, I breathed my first breath of free air. I was going home. It is 6 hours, so it will be a long time. We all sit down and eat some breakfast. We have a variety of things. Bagels, oatmeal, eggs, French toast, bacon, sausage, yogurt, smoothies, milk, orange juice and so much more. It is a great breakfast to eat on a wonderful day like today. We sit around the table eating and talking and laughing for about an hour. I didn't get much sleep last night and I ask to be excused. Effie takes me to my bedroom which was the same one coming here. I lay down on the bed, thinking of being home in a few hours. I try my hardest to sleep, and after 30 minutes, I do. Peeta wakes me up some time later and says we are about an hour away and it's time to get ready. I get out of bed and look in the mirror. My hair is still good, I just comb through it. Perfectly straight all the way down my back. The bow is still in. I take the remote and change the color to green. Katniss will love this. I walk to the dining room where I find only Haymitch. Effie and Peeta must still be getting ready. "Hello Haymitch." I say. He gives me a glare and takes another swing of a bottle. I haven't talked to him really at all since we got out of the games. I think I know why too. "I'm sorry, I know about your Games. I shouldn't have listened to Glimmer but I did. I don't see why you are so mad about it though, everything was televised. It was all public so why are you made if I know." I ask him. He shakes his head a little. "What do you think of me now Prim. Some killing machine? I used to be pretty normal. I had a girl and a family. All that was taken away 2 weeks after I got home all because I used that force field as a weapon when it wasn't meant to. Don't you understand that everyone you love could be gone in two weeks like mine! You should have killed Peeta, or escaped and killed yourself." I know he isn't serious about me killing myself because he is drunk. But it still gets to me. "That is enough! Haymitch, you just ruined a perfect day. Go take those pills to sober you up. We are almost home." Says Peeta behind me as he grabs my shoulders and leads me away from the room. I'm crying now. "Prim, don't listen to him. He is just really drunk. Effie has some pills he can take and he will be sober in about 10 minutes." He tells me. "Peeta? Do you think everyone we love will be dead soon because of what we did. No, you did. Your family could be dead because I don't think things out!" I wail. He sees how upset I am and calms me down. "Prim, that won't happen. Think of this, we are almost home. Katniss is going to be there. Your mother and Gale and I will be there. You won't be alone I promise." I know he is telling the truth. He takes me into a bathroom where I fix my hair and make-up one more time. Peeta says we are five minutes from the train station and we take our spots on the caboose of the train. Fresh air feels nice. It doesn't take long for me to see my district. The sight of home puts butterflies in my stomach.

Part 41  
We roll up to the station and everyone from the District is there. They are all cheering and screaming and yelling for Peeta and me. Most of them have never been around to see a Victor, and now there are two in the same year. We wave to them and I blow kisses. Peeta stands next to me smiling and looking like a million bucks. I grab my remote and switch it to orange because I think he will like it. I hear the excitement and awes of the crowd when I do this. They have just been completely amazed. As I smile and wave, I catch sight of something running and moving toward the crowd. Someone is trying to get to the train. I keep waving, but my eyes are fixed on the figure. Whoever it is seems to be getting angry that they can't see the Victors. That's when I see her long dark braid. "Katniss!" I yell. Peeta looks at me. "Where?" He asks. "Over there! Katniss!" I yell and point. I grab Peeta's hand and run off the train and toward the figure. I hear, "Prim!" from the figure that was running toward the train. It is Katniss. The crowd makes a path for me and I see her. I start running again. "Katniss!" I yell as I run into her arms. This moment right here could be the single handed happiest moment in all of my life. She has her arms around me and is saying, "Prim, oh Prim! I thought I would never see you again. I thought I would never hold you again. I love you so much Prim! I won't let anything happen to you ever again!" She is screaming in my ears. I'm too happy for words right now. There are more cameras and are taking more pictures of Katniss and me. "Katniss, I missed you so much! I don't ever want to leave again! I love you Katniss!" My mother and Gale came over and are hugging us now. Everyone but Gale is crying, even Peeta who is standing off to the side. I let go of Katniss and everyone else releases too. I look at Katniss with the tears in her eyes and then I look at Peeta. "Katniss, this is-" She looks at Peeta and jumps into his arms hugging him. She has her arms around his neck and more cameras take pictures. I hear Peeta say, "You're welcome Katniss." So I am guessing she is thanking him 1,000 times. Just when she pulls away from his hug and I think she will come back to me she kisses him. Right on the mouth! Peeta kisses her back as about 30 cameras take pictures of them. That will be the highlight of our reunion. Now I really start crying tears of joy. My mother is hugging me again. "Mom look!" I say because I don't want her to miss this. She turns and her face grows into a huge smile. "Well, he has loved her since they were five." I feel so happy at that moment. Then everything changes. Gale leaves my side and goes over to where Katniss and Peeta are still kissing. I let out a scream of terror as he pulls Katniss away and punches Peeta right in the side of the face.

Part 42  
I hold ice to Peeta's cheek and see that he is going to have a black eye. How could a day like this turn so ugly so fast? After Gale punched him, I was surprised Peeta took action. Usually, Peeta is one to talk things out and try to solve things a better way. But I think Peeta was more mad when Gale shoved Katniss like her did. Jerking her out of the way to get to him. Peeta rose from his first hit and swung at Gale, striking him in the nose. Blood gushed out and peacekeepers came over to break it up. That didn't stop Gale from trying to get back to Peeta, but it did prevent another hit. Katniss tried to stop them and Gale accidently hit her in the mouth. She is now sitting 3 feet from Peeta waiting for me to aid to her. Gale is in the other room with my mother and Hazel. Hazel is Gale's mother. She was very mad when she found out Peeta hit her baby boy, even tried to hit him a few times. That was the maddest I have ever seen her. But when she found out how it really happened, she was furious at Gale. "She's not even your girlfriend! Why would you get so jealous and make a fool of yourself in front of all of Panem like that!" She yelled at him. "You ruined Prim and Katniss's day! She just got back from the Hunger Games for Hob sake! How could you not think about Katniss or Prim or Peeta?" When she finished yelling at him, my mother took him into the other room to work on him while Hazel talked to Peeta. "I'm sorry Peeta. He over reacted way too much. I have kids at home though, but I'll be back. I hope you and Katniss are okay." Then she left. I was still attending to Peeta, when I heard Katniss. "Prim, I'm so sorry. This was supposed to be a special day. I don't know what was going through his mind when he shoved me." She said to me. "It's not your fault. It was a shock seeing you kiss Peeta," He blushes at the memory "but I thought it was cute." She smiles and stands up. She comes over to me and kisses my head. "Let me check your mouth." I say to her. She opens up and I can see some bleeding. It looks like that's about it though. "It doesn't look bad. Just some bleeding at the moment. That will stop soon. Does it hurt?" I ask her. She nods, "Yes," She stands up, "But not too bad." She looks at Peeta and kisses him real fast. "Thank you so much. Come over for dinner tonight please. I need to go talk to Gale, he won't be there, I promise." She kissed him again and left to the next room. "I have a feeling she only is kissing me because I made sure you lived." Peeta says when she is out of the room. "I don't think so. She has never kissed anyone before Peeta. She has never loved anyone except my family. I have never seen her look to someone that way before. Not how she looks at you. I think she may actually love you." I tell him. "Hold this ice to your eye, I will be right back." I walk out of this room and into the next where Katniss and Gale are talking. My mother and Hazel left, and they don't notice me come in. "Gale, he just brought my sister back from the Hunger Games! How could I not love him?" I hear Katniss say to Gale. "Well, I think it's a bit early to say you love him since you just met him! You have never even talked to him Katniss. He doesn't have thousands of hunting stories and memories with you like I do. I helped keep your family alive and this is how you repay me? Kissing him right in front of me? I love you Katniss! How could you not see that?" My mouth falls open and so does Katniss's when he says that. I leave mine open, but she quickly shuts hers. "Well, that may be so. But I have watched him for so many years. Since he saved my life and Prim's and my mothers. When we were 11 I have kept track of him. I slowly started growing feelings for him but I made such thoughts exit my mind. I didn't want to bring a child into this world, that's why I never talked to him. I have always and only thought of you as a friend, but nothing more. So leave it at that Gale." I quickly go into the Room Peeta is in because I feel Katniss will be coming back. I walk over to Peeta, "Peeta, I just heard Katniss and Gale talking." I say with a grin.


End file.
